


The Forgotten Prince's Song

by sasuhina_gal



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cuban and Japanese Lance, Doctor Shiro (Voltron), Full Moon o Sagashite AU, Full Moon o Sagashite References, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Keith can switch between Galra and human look, Lance Has Cancer, Lance is 3 years younger than Keith, Lance is an orphan, Lance is trilingual, M/M, Manager Allura (Voltron), Minor Character Death, Producer Kolivan, Producer Lotor, Queen of the Underworld Luxia, Shinigami Hunk, Shinigami Pidge, Shinigami Slav, Shinigami Sven, Singer Keith, Singer Lance, Star Trek type world, Temporary Altean Lance, Underage - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2019-07-27 23:51:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 24
Words: 183,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16229870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sasuhina_gal/pseuds/sasuhina_gal
Summary: From the first time he heard his father’s music, Lance knew he wanted to be a singer. But there’s one problem, he’s suffering from a cancer called sarcoma that’s siting on his vocal cords. Then after meeting a pair of Shinigami, he finds out he only has a year left to live. With the help of the Shinigami, he gains a chance to achieve his dream. His reason for pushing forward was Akira, but after meeting the Galra singer known as Red, Lance will have to come forward with something he’s been avoiding for 10 years.





	1. The Rise of the Prince

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is, my story for the Klance Big Bang 2018. It was really hard work but I did it. I was paired with the amazing [@aceveria-art](https://aceveria-art.tumblr.com/) and we both suffered through this but we've come out on top. Please go check out their art because I was a screaming mess the whole time they showed me pictures. They're amazing.

The crowd cheered for the singer on stage as he sung his heart out with his loyal band backing him up to the very last note. His blue eyes shining with happiness at the sight of his fans having a blast, he lifted his microphone to speak to everyone.

“Everyone, thank you. You guys are the reason I get to do this. This is the last song for the night so please help me sing it. I want everyone from around the world to hear us tonight, ok?” with cheers of agreement, Lance smiled and turned around to place himself near the stairs to of his balcony set when he realised someone was already standing there. “Akira?”

Standing on the balcony was a tall 20 year old young man with long black hair, his brown eyes looking at Lance gently. “Lance. You achieved your dream too?”

“Yeah. Does that mean…?” Lance asked

Akira nodded. “I’m an astronomer like I promised. I’ve waited so long to see you again Lance.”

The familiar feeling of love welled up inside Lance as he stared up at the man he loved, “Akira, Akira!”

Before Lance could reach him at the top of the stairs and hug him, kiss him, tell him the words he had locked up for so long, a loud beeping broke him out of his dreams. He blinked sleepily as he hit the off button of his maneki neko clock and pushed himself up off the futon, rubbing his eyes, looking around his room for the familiar figure.

“Akira?”

But Akira wasn’t there. Lance hadn’t seen him in 10 years and he wasn’t about to show up at a concert of Lance’s because Lance was not a professional singer. In fact, the idea of being a professional singer, no matter how much Lance wanted and dreamed of it, wasn’t going to happen. Why?

_tatta hitotsu kawaranai mono_  
zutto egaiteta yume  
ima no jibun wa dou utsuru no?  
ano koro no chiisana hitomi ni

Lance sung as he finished his face routine, looking pleased with himself, be it from how his skin looked or how loud he seemed to be singing, it didn’t matter because Lance was proud with both.

“I think I can do it.” He said to himself before getting up, brush in hand to brandish like a microphone, singing louder this time

_nee miagete_  
konna ni hiroi yozora dakara  
sou sugu ni wakaru yo– 

His singing was cut off by the intense pain in his throat that caused him to drop his brush and also drop onto the floor, straining himself not to cough which would make the pain worse. No matter how much he wanted to, Lance wouldn’t be able to get on a stage, not when he was suffering from a tumour in his throat called sarcoma.

“Lance!” the 16 year old forgot about any pain he was in as he spun around to face the stern faced old woman glaring at him. “How many times have I told you never to sing? Music is a deceitful thing and forbidden in this house. Do not make me punish you.”

“Yes ma’am, but…”

“Do not talk back!”

Lance looked down, almost defeated. The woman standing in front of him was his grandmother, though sometimes it felt like she was his prison warden. She hated music, which was the one thing Lance loved the most. It made matters worse when you thought about how he was brought into the world. His mother ran away from home to be with her boyfriend/ future husband and father of her child who was a musician, his mother working as an assistant to the band he was in. he lost his life trying to get his wife to the hospital and she lost hers bringing Lance into the world. Music took Lance’s mother away from his grandmother, so it was no surprise she hated it with her very being.

“Now, Doctor Shirogane is here, so behave.”

His down mood brightened at the sound of new footsteps walking into his room as a tall buff man walked around Lance’s grandmother.

“Good morning Lance.”

“Shiro!”

“Lance!” his grandmother scolded. It was a usual accuranc whenever Shiro came to check up on his patient and something Lance would probably never be broken of.

Once she was done scolding her grandchild for his rudeness, Lance’s grandmother left the two. Lance had caught a fever and it seemed like it finally broke and he was due for another check-up. Lance usually hated being reminded about his sickness and most doctors but Shiro was different. He knew Lance’s parents, had been in his father’s band as the keyboard player and understood Lance’s dream. He knew everything about Lance and was willing to try and help him with everything he could.

“Your fever has defiantly broken. I can say with certainty you’ll be back at school on Monday. Your tumour hasn’t grown either from what I can see, but judging from the scolding you were getting when I came in, you were singing again?”

Lance shrugged, “nothing worse than usual. It only hurt when I got louder.”

Shiro put his equipment away in his bag when he turned to Lance. “We should try and do the surgery soon Lance.”

Lance immediately shook his head. “I’m not doing it.”

“Lance,” Shiro tried to reason when Lance interrupted.

“We live in a world where we live with aliens who once lived thousands of lightyears away from us. Technology, culture, medicine and life itself has transformed in ways some people could never imagine. Cancer became something people wouldn’t have to fear except for those who turned out to quintessence sensitive. There’s one of two options when your quintessence sensitive, either things go really well or really bad and you don’t know what it is until you go through the treatment. My only other option is a surgery that will completely remove my vocal cords and the one thing I fear the most, isn’t dying from this, it’s from never being able to sing again. So no Shiro, I’m not getting the surgery.”

Shiro looked like he wanted to argue, but it would be futile. Lance wasn’t changing his mind at all, no matter how much everyone pushed him. Shiro sighed but nodded. “Alright, I’ll drop it for now.”

Hoping to change the subject, Lance put on his puppy dog eyes, fluttering them to Shiro, “hey Shiro?”

Shiro was quick to understand. “What do you want Lance?”

“Do you think you can tell my grandmother that I need to go to the hospital?”

“Why? Usually if you need to go out, you ask if Coran can take you out. Unless it’s something your grandmother would say no to.”

Giving Shiro a mischievous look, he got up and opened the drawer to his desk, pulling out a page and handing it to Shiro. “I got through to the second round of the Altea Records Debut Artist Audition. I sent the form without grandmother knowing and I might have lied about my age a bit…”

“By how much?” Shiro asked

“I said I was 19. Not that much of a stretch. Anyway, I can get changed really quickly and you can take me.”

“No.” Shiro firmly answered

“Wha-why not?”

“Lance, you said it yourself. You have sarcoma and you can’t sing very loudly. Not only that, you just got over a fever. Lance, I know just how much singing means to you, but as your doctor, I can’t allow this. If we can find a way to remove the tumour without hurting your vocal cords and you respond well to the treatment, I promise I will help you convince your grandmother to allow you to sing, but until then, you have to put the dream away.”

“But I promised Akira!” Lance reasoned.

“Lance…”

“I promised Akira I’d reach my dream when I see him again.” Lance whispered, looking downcast.

Shiro looked upset himself as he put a hand on Lance’s head. “I know. I’m sorry. I have to go now but call me if you need anything ok?”

Lance only nodded, quietly walking Shiro out of the separate building on the property that was his room before going back to where his desk was and collapsed in front of it, shoving the confirmation paper back in its drawer. He groaned, letting his head hit the table.

“This is the third time. I’m so close and this stupid tumour…” he lifted his head and looked at the small shelf that was on his desk, pulling out an old book on astronomy. He flipped it open to a familiar page, looking down at the picture of the same young man who had been waiting for him in his dreams. “I’m sorry Akira. I promise I’ll get there. I promise I’ll tell you.” The brown eyes in the picture looked up at Lance with the same compassion and kindness he saw in his dream. He looked up at the poster of the moon phases for the year X08, his memories of the kind and loving man drifting through his head when all of a sudden, a colourful portal appeared in the moon that sat in the middle of the poster. Lance’s eyes widened at the sight, but he jolted away from his desk when a gloved hand came through. A young adult, maybe Lance’s age, maybe older climbed out of the portal, orange cat ears attached to the same coloured headband that kept his dark brown bangs out of his eyes. The backpack with wings on the guy’s back fluttered as he gently touched down on the floor. His appearance made him look like a buff teddy bear with his strong arms but soft belly, his brown eyes fixed on Lance.

“Lance Kurogane-McClain, age 16. This is him.”

_‘How does this guy know my name and how the hell did he get in my room?’_

As if that wasn’t odd enough by itself, another person came out the portal as well, short tawny brown hair matching her eyes. She somehow looked older despite her pre-teen appearance.

“Hunk, you fly too fast.” She complained as she let her wings, not attached to any bag, allow her to gently touch on the floor. She had a pair of green and white cat ears and matching tail but they looked real compared to the ones Hunk had. Following her was a floating robot shaped like a pyramid.

“Must be cause of your really tiny wingspan.” Hunk teased, being rewarded with a harsh punch to the shoulder

“Shut up. Don’t be rude to your senior!”

“I can’t help it if my superior is tiny.”

“I will hurt you.” She threatened before looking over at Lance. “So this is him?”

“Yep. He’s supposed to meet this person today so we have to keep an eye out.”

Finally not able to take anymore Lance interrupted, “excuse me. Who are you and how the hell did you get in my room?”

The two looked at him before looking at each other. “Is he talking to us?”

“Yes, I’m talking to the nekonomimis standing in my room right now! Who the hell are you?”

Lance was stunned when the two started freaking out all of a sudden, screaming something about how they shouldn’t be seen.

“Pidge, what do we do now?” Hunk asked the smaller girl

“We do what boss is always telling us to do, introduce ourselves.”

“Ok, I guess.” Hunk cleared his throat and with the most amount of theatrics Lance had seen since the last time he pretended to be sick – Lance took doing that very seriously – he said, “in the dark where we realm!”

“We are the Shinigami team that even lies to crying children!”

“Hunk!”

“Pidge!”

“We have Rover Rock!”

While the whole scene was strange and confusing, Lance couldn’t help but burst into a plea of giggles.

“Rover Rock? That sounds like a reject band!” he said before completely dissolving into laughter, collapsing onto his side, forgetting about all the sadness he had been feeling before.

“I really hate our team name.” Pidge groaned in annoyance.

“We don’t have a choice. The name was picked out by the boss.” Hunk reminded

Hunk would have continued to try and calm Pidge down but he felt a tug on his pants and looked down to see Lance was much closer and feeling up his tail

“Ahh, stop!” Hunk said, yanking the tail out of Lance’s hand, holding it close like a baby

“That feels pretty real.” Lance commented out loud

“That’s because we work in paediatrics.” Pidge pointed out. When Lance gave her a confused look, she explained. “Technically you fall under young adults but we were told by our boss that we needed to take this case.”

“Right.” Lance said, letting everything sink into his mind when he realised something. “Wait, your Shinigami right? Does that mean I’m going to die today?”

“No, you don’t die for another year.” Hunk said, before slapping his hands over his mouth, Pidge hitting him.

“Hunk! You can’t tell him that!”

“So, I’ll die from…” Lance trailed off, his hand going to his throat where he knew his cancer was located growing and ruining his life.

“Your cancer, yes. But it’s ok. It’ll be gentle.” Pidge said awkwardly, not sure how to comfort Lance. He wasn’t even supposed to see her. “Please don’t be upset.”

The two Shinigami blinked in surprise that Lance didn’t look upset, like he knew this was happening. Pidge decided to take use of it and ordered the robot that was floating next to her to pull up the Shinigami handbook. While she flicked through the holographic pages, Hunk looked at Lance, who held sadness in his eyes that made him say the next words.

“There are people who are going try and stop your death. We were told to come here to stop you from meeting someone who’s going to stop your death.”

“So I won’t die?” Lance asked, slightly hopeful.

Hunk shook his head, “no. fate can’t be changed. In a year’s time, during the summer, you will die.”

_‘A year huh? If I only have a year left, then I can’t let this chance pass me by.’_

Hunk turned when he felt a hand on his shoulder, looking at the furious look on Pidge’s face.

“What do you think you’re doing? Going on and on about things he shouldn’t even know! Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ll be in when the boss finds out?”

“In case you forgot, he’s not even supposed to see us, so I don’t think telling him he’s going to…Pidge?”

“What Hunk?”

“Where did he go?” Hunk asked not seeing the brown haired teen anywhere in the room. Pidge looked around as well but Lance had completely disappeared.

From the room at least and he was about to disappear from the property. When he was feeling daring, Lance would use a cluster of stones and a well places tree to climb over the wall to the road that lead away from the house. Holding tight to his tote bag, Lance dropped down from the wall and ran towards the stairs that would take him down the road but stopping when he heard someone yelling behind him.

“Kid, get back here!”

Lance was kinda insulted that Pidge, who looked younger than him, called him a kid, but he ignored it like he ignored his pain as he rushed down the stairs until he was at the bottom, on the sidewalk. He took slow shaky breaths so he wouldn’t trigger his pain when he heard yelling again and spun around to see Hunk sliding down the railing on the soles of his feet.

“Wait a second! Come back here!”

Like he was planning on listening to that. In the loudest voice he could muster, Lance called for a taxi, waving his hands when he spotted a familiar green car that stopped in front of him and allowed him to climb in before Hunk could catch up to him.

Hunk stomped his foot in anger as he watched the car containing Lance drive away. “Dang it! I was so close.”

“Hunk! Look out!” unlike Hunk, who had slid down the railing on his feet, Pidge was on her thighs though she didn’t seem to have the same control as she went corralling off the railing and the sudden wind beneath her wings gave her an extra boost to send her crashing into Hunk and them both into the sky.

Lance watched all of this from the back window of the taxi that was on its way to Altea Records. Lance turned to the taxi driver – a Balmeran, which surprised Lance since he usually saw them away from such technology like cars – and asked if he could change in the backseat and was granted the privacy partition going up, the windows tinting to accommodate him.

_‘If I only have a year left to live, then I doing the audition. I have to become a singer before then. Thank you two. You’re giving me the strength to push forward.’_

After he was dropped off by the taxi as close as he could be and getting slightly lost, Lance found it. Altea Records. The sign was made of stone, as opposed to the usual screen signs, but it seemed to capture its power and strength, the height of the building aiding it along.

“I’m finally here Akira. Just you wait, I’ll keep our promise.”

* * *

 

Both Hunk and Pidge flew through sky, looking for the brown haired teen.

“I can’t believe you went running your mouth like that. What were you thinking? Oh wait, obviously you weren’t!” Pidge snapped, still angry about what Hunk had done.

“Hey, it’s not like there’s a rule book on what to do if we are seen. I thought he’d be surprised at the thought of dying so I thought he’d need a bit of comforting.”

“You told him we were there to stop him from living longer. Not exactly comforting.” Pidge pointed out

“What else could I say? Can we just forget about that please? We need to find him.” Hunk said, ending the conversation before Pidge could yell at him again and looked closely for anyone that looked like Lance, when finally he spotted him. Lance was behind the Altea Records building, trying to open a door and failing. “There he is!”

“What’s he doing? Hey, Hunk,” Pidge said as Hunk was about to fly down, “you know if he sees us he’ll try and run away again right?”

“Well, luckily for us, you noticed he had a bunch of stuffed animals in his room right? Thinking what I’m thinking?”

Sharing a similar smirk with Hunk, Pidge said, “Never let anyone tell you you’re not a genius. Let’s go!”

Not even noticing he had stalkers, Lance struggled to get the door open. He hadn’t been allowed in because the minimum age for the audition was 18 and Lance had to stop himself from putting 20. He didn’t look the age so he’d have to find another way in and obviously since the door was locked, he would need another way in. He looked around when he noticed an open window above him.

“There! I can get in through there. But how do I get in?” he looked for something he could scale when he saw that there was a pipe leading upwards and just past the window. Lance didn’t take much prompting as he scurried towards it but stopped at the sight of two lion plushies. One was yellow with a large maw and the other was green and significantly smaller with a pyramid charm hanging from the bow around its neck, but it didn’t mean either of them weren’t cute. “Aww! How cute! Are these decorations?” Lance reached out to touch one but jolted back when the yellow lion moved and grabbed onto his hand. With a sudden puff of smoke, Lance realised his arms were restricted by two very annoyed Shinigami. “You guys!”

“Don’t ‘you guys’ us. Come on, we’re taking you back home.” Pidge stated, as she and Hunk started dragging Lance down the street, him flailing the entire way to escape, which looked odd to anyone who saw Lance and no Shinigami holding him.

Dragging his feet, Lance furiously protested. “No, no, no! Please, you have to let me go. I have to go to the audition. It has to be today, so let me go!”

“What audition are you doing that you don’t go through the front door?” Pidge asked

“I did go through the front door, but they said I don’t look the age. The minimum age is 18 and I put 19. Don’t I look 19? I’m tall for my age.”

The two Shinigami stopped and gave Lance a once over. “Actually, you don’t.”

Lance spun around and tried to climb up the pole, Hunk flying after him. “So this is my only way in!”

“Stop! What are you doing? You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“I have to get into this audition. If I don’t…I just have to, so let me-” Lance stopped as pain seized his body and he left his legs wobble as the pain ran through his body as he also tried to stop himself from coughing.

“Hey are you ok?” Hunk asked, hands just above Lance, not sure if to touch him or not.

“Speaking loudly…I can’t…” Lance barely got through.

Pidge handed Lance his dropped tote bag and watched Lance pull out a pouch of tissues and a water bottle. “If you can’t speak loudly, then why are you even trying to do this audition? This is a record label building right? Wouldn’t you have to sing loudly?”

Lance look disheartened, knowing Pidge was right, but it didn’t matter.

“Listen to me please. I have to do this audition. I have only a year left right? This is my only chance to do this. If I fail, I promise I’ll listen to you and do whatever you tell me. Just please, let me do this audition.” Lance begged

Pidge opened her mouth to deny Lance’s request but Hunk beat her to it.

“Ok.”

“What!”

“Really?”

Pidge looked at Hunk like he was insane as he summoned a sheathed dagger. He pulled out the blade and cut a small cut on the palm of his hand. They watched as the blood seeped out and fall, stopping to float and join with the other drops. It seemed to glow as it became a small pill.

“Swallow this ok? It’ll turn you into a 19 year old and when you’re in that form, you’ll be completely healthy, free of any cancer on my mark ok?”

Looking slightly apprehensive, Lance took the pill and with a deep breath put it in his mouth and dry swallowed.

“Good. Now it’ll feel a little weird, but just bear with it a bit ok?” at Lance’s nod, Hunk snapped his fingers.

It did feel weird, like something exploded in his body and it was spreading all through out. It only lasted for a few moments and suddenly, he felt taller and uneven, like he was going through puberty again and had to get used to his new growth, but other than that he didn’t feel much different.

“Feel any different?”

“Kinda.”

Hunk nodded to a nearby truck and watched Lance apprehensively approach the mirror. Other than being taller, Lance’s face was sharper, any baby fat that stuck around after puberty gone and his brown hair was longer and thicker. Lance was obviously happy with the changes as he turned and hugged Hunk around the neck, making the Shinigami embarrassed.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you so much, Hunk? It’s Hunk right? It suits you, but thank you so much!”

“Stop stroking his ego!” Pidge yelled as Hunk turned red from the ‘suiting him’ compliment.

“Do you like how you look?” Hunk asked ignoring Pidge

“I love it but um, I was wondering if I can ask you for something else? Could you make me look Altean?”

“Altean? Like marks, ears, all that?”

Lance nodded, “blue markings and white hair, like Altean royalty.”

“Altean doesn’t have a monarchy anymore do they? How about I make your hair longer too?”

“Yes please!”

Pidge watched as Hunk did all the changes and Lance give Hunk another hug before he ran back to the front of the building before grabbing Hunk by the back of his shirt and pulled him up into the air.

“What the hell were you thinking using your magic on him? You do realise if he makes it through, it’ll be that much harder to pull him away from this world. Plus the amount of trouble you’ll get into if the boss finds out about this?”

“If he dies with regrets, it’ll be that much harder to pull him away from this world, plus I have an idea on how to get him to do this and still get him to listen to us.”

Pidge furrowed her brown in confusion. “How?”

Hunk lead her into the building up to the 10th floor where a room full of singing hopefuls waiting for the audition to start and into another hallway where a man was standing talking to a female Olkarian. Pidge noticed he had a lanyard around his neck that said ‘Judge-Altea Records’.

“I’ll definitely come and check it out. I know the boss will be ecstatic when he sees it. I’ll text you after the auditions today?”

“Please. I’ll be waiting for your call. Until then.” with a bowed head, the Olkarian walked down the hall while the man headed to the nearby men’s room. He didn’t get very far when he was hit in the face by a large hand, knocking him out.

“I’ll just change into him and fail Lance. When he doesn’t get in, he’ll give it up and he keeps his promise.”

“Hunk, it’s so, so, devious. I’m rubbing off on you aren’t I?”

“I’m willing to pretend to be someone else to stop a boy from achieving his dream. Trust me, I’m dripping in your essence….that sounded better in my head, just help me hide him.”

* * *

 

Lance cracked the door open to the waiting room and looked at all the hopefuls doing voice warmups, standing around, confidence oozing from them. He took a deep breath and opened the door, trying not to flinch at all the eyes on him. Hunk had made his new white hair shoulder length and Lance pulled it into a low bun, his long bangs just brushing over his new blue marks. He could see that there were different species but he looked like the only Altean.

_‘Everyone staring at me. Is it because I’m the only Altean looking person in the room? To matters worse, I choose a colour connected with the old monarchs. What if that was a bad idea? What if they can tell I’m not actually 19? Oh god, what if-’_

“Excuse me?” Lance was broken from his panicked musings by a voice and looked up to see a tall alien. He first thought was Galran, but at her different appearance, he realised she was half. Her skin colour was orange with yellow and blue-purple marks on her forehead, an appendage similar to hair falling down her back, stripped with the same colours on her face in addition to light blue and green. Her eyes were a similar blue to his. “Can I sit here?” she asked pointing to the seat next to him.

“Oh, yeah, of course.” Usually Lance would flirt as a way of distracting himself, though most of the girls at his school knew he was the cancer kid so they never bothered and Shiro would only give him patient smiles when he tried it on him, but his fear had taken over.

“What agency are you from?” she asked

“Agency?” Lance wondered if he had to be part of an agency to be accepted but the people who signed him in didn’t say anything when he said he wasn’t part of one.

“So you’re not with one?” when Lance shook her head, she laughed. “Well too bad for you. Let me tell you something.” She leaned close and whispered, “they’ve already chosen their winner.”

“What! Then what’s the point of us auditioning?” Lance shouted in surprised, only to be shushed by the girl when he realised everyone was looking at him. “Sorry.” He apologized to the room before the girl pulled him close.

“Calm down. The reason they’re even doing this audition is for publicity. They get tons of talk from talk shows so when the person makes their appearance; they get huge amounts of talk and publicity. They’re already famous and they only just started.”

Lance digested this before looking back at the girl. “I guess you know this because you’re the winner?” how else could she know? The fake sympathetic look she gave him told him all he needed to know.

“Attention everyone, we’re about to start the auditions. We’ll be calling you in by numeric order, so make sure you pay attention to the number you were given during registration.”

“I’ll see you around.” The girl said, before standing up, leaving Lance feeling lower than ever.

_‘What am I doing here? What’s the point is someone’s already been chosen and they’re just stringing us along? Grandmother’s always discouraged me, Shiro’s tried stopping me and according to Hunk and Pidge, I only have a year left. Akira, what do I do?’_

“Number 21? Number 21, can you please come through?” Lance snapped out of his musing, realising that while he was so deep in his thoughts, contestants had come and gone. And with a glance at the number he was given, he was next.

He was in a daze as he handed his iPod that had the instrumental to the technician and stood in front of the panel of judges.

“And you are?”

“Number 21, Kurogane McClain Lance, Lance being my first name.”

“So Lance Kurogane McClain, what type of music do you like?”

“Japanese pop mostly.”

“If you become a singer, is there anything you want to try?”

“Well, I want to sing, because I like singing.”

Lance didn’t notice but his dark cloud he gained after talking to the girl hadn’t disappeared. In fact his bad aura radiated off of him so much the judges could practically see it.

_‘If he’s like this, it won’t take much of my say to get him to fail.’_ The changed Hunk thought as he watched Lance’s whole domineer get darker and darker.

“How about you sing for us? Start the music please.” Hunk said, getting a handle on how the auditions worked after 20 contestants.

Lance sung into the mic he had been given but it was at the level he would usually sing at that didn’t agitate his throat.

“Stop, we can’t hear you over the music.” One of the judges said

“Try again, louder.”

Lance’s hand automatically went to his throat at the command. He wanted to but…

“Is there something wrong with your throat?” a judge asked

“I told you’d be healthy to sing like this.” Hunk muttered but loudly enough to be heard

“Healthy enough?” Lance asked, happy he was reminded of what his body was at the moment but confused why the judge knew that.

“Nothing, nothing. Just sing, you said you wanted to sing because you like sing right?”

At that, Lance remembered Akira, telling him how much he loved hearing Lance sing and how much Lance wanted to sing for him, even if it hurt his throat.

“Yeah, I do love to sing. I’m ready to try again.”

_‘It’s fine if it’s painful or it hurts. Because whether it’s pain or love that fills my heart. It doesn’t matter if someone’s already been chosen. All of this is part of achieving my dream.’_

**_tatta hitotsu kawaranai mono_**  
 **_zutto egaiteta yume_**  
 ** _ima no jibun wa dou utsuru no?_**  
 ** _ano koro no chiisana hitomi ni_**  
  
**_nee miagete_**  
 ** _konna ni hiroi yozora dakara_**  
 ** _sou sugu ni wakaru you ni_**  
 ** _sei-ippai kagayaku kara hayaku_**  
 ** _FURUMU-N wo sagashite_**  


_‘Wow, I can sing so loudly and it doesn’t even hurt to breath. Akira, can you hear me? I want to find you so I can tell you I love you and I’m sorry I was so scared to say it before. Come find me please.’_

  
**_Let's sing a song! itsu demo issho_**  
 ** _kimi no tame ima no watashi ni dekiru subete_**  
 ** _Day by day kyou made no unmei_**  
 ** _ashita kara no kibou kono mune ni kakae_**  
  
**_Let's sing a song! itsu demo issho_**  
 ** _kimi to nara_**  
 ** _tsurai koto norikoerareru yo_**  
 ** _More and more motto motto motto_**  
 ** _chikadzukitai ima koko ni ite kurete_**  
 ** _many thanks to you!_**

Throughout the whole song, all the judges sat in stunned silence at the aura inducing voice of Lance. They had never heard anything like it. Even the Shinigami, Pidge peeking in through one of the windows behind the judges, sat there in silence, though for Hunk it was something else. It was something familiar.

When Lance was done, he was breathing slightly heavily because of his volume, but he didn’t regret it at all. When he didn’t see any sort of reaction from the judges, he tilted his head slightly and said, “um, I’m done.” He had more lyrics he could have sung but he decided not to push his luck. He was surprised when all the judges stood up, demanding to send all the other contestants back, to call people, that they changed their minds and they choose number 21.

As in, number 21, Lance Kurogane McClain.

_‘I got chosen? But I thought, I thought that girl said, what?!’_

Hunk was still sitting, watching as Lance was swarmed by the different people clearly hearing Pidge demanding to know what they did now. He didn’t know but that was the last thing on his mind. His mind was on the song Lance sung and how he sung it.


	2. The Prince's Intentions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So thank god this was a big bang because my grandfather passed and his funeral is on Monday, which is when I decided updates will be. Hopefully you enjoy this day early update. Also, I forgot to link it last time, but [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmX4mFkE8jg) is the song that Lance sings in his audition. I'll make sure to link songs that appear in each chapter.

Lance poked his head out, where he could see the large group of contestants trying to get answers to why there was no third round like promised and why they stopped auditions. He had given over all his information and was hoping that he could disappear while everyone was busy. He tip toed around the crowd and was finally out the room when he was stopped by the same alien from earlier. The one had originally been chosen.

“So you do have connections.”

Lance shook his head. “I don’t. I wasn’t expecting them to change their mind. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine. They only changed because you have a cute face. It’s another trick of the trade, good looking person to become their new face. I wasn’t impressed with that poorly sung song of yours. Well, I have better things to do, bye.” She sung, walking around Lance, who stood there in shock

Poorly sung song? Cute face? Lance loved singing that song, and put all his emotion into it, but what if it wasn’t enough? Lance didn’t think people would base him just on his looks. But then again, they were stringing hopefuls along. Lance wouldn’t be surprised if that’s why they choose him. He wanted to turn around and tell them to cancel his application but…he was going to die in a year. What if he never had another chance to get this close to his dream? Lance tightened his grip on his bag. It felt wrong, but what choice did he have?

* * *

 

“I can’t believe you didn’t stop him.” Pidge yelled to Hunk, who was still trying to figure out the song Lance had sung. “What are we supposed to do now? Hunk, are you listening to me? Hunk!”

“Hmm?”

Pidge groaned, before grabbing Hunk’s yellow shirt and pulled him down, “listen to me. Do you have any idea how much harder it’ll be to get him to leave?”

“Ok, yes, I know. But Pidge, you heard him. Have you ever heard anything like that?”

Pidge shrugged. To be honest, no. She had never heard someone sing with such soul and such feeling before. “If he was fated to live a regular life, yeah. He would be the most famous singer, but Hunk, he can’t live a regular life because he has one year left to live. This is why he couldn’t get this far. We have to follow him around now.”

“What do you want to do Pidge? Take his soul now? Just, let him have this. Let him change other people’s lives with his music, like I’m sure he can so when he goes, he’s leaving behind something good for them to remember him by.” Hunk practically begged

Pidge wanted to refuse again but saw the familiar white haired teen approaching them, looking upset for someone who was just chosen to be the next star of Altea Records.

“What’s with you?” Pidge asked once Lance reached them.

“Do you…do you guys think I was only chosen because of my face?”

Pidge and Hunk blinked and looked at each other. They were just in an argument about letting Lance go forward with it, even though they both knew he would be amazing.

“If they choose you just for your face, then they’re idiots. Trust me, I’m not happy you passed, but anyone with ears can tell you’re an amazing singer.” Pidge said, making Lance look at her with surprise, “anyone who told you that is obviously jealous of how well you were. You had us both stunned.”

Hunk nodded furiously in agreement, leaving Lance with a small smile of appreciation.

“Thank you. And thank you for letting me do this. I never thought I would get this far.”

“No problem. I did have a question though. That song you sang, what was it?” Hunk asked

“Oh, _New Future_? It’s a song my dad wrote for his band. He was a musician. Apparently, it was never recorded, but I’m the only one with the original copy because of my doctor.”

“Your doctor?” Hunk asked

“Shiro. He used to be the keyboard player for the band while also attending medical school. After the band broke up he finished medical school and became a doctor, becoming my doctor once he transferred to this area.”

“Hmm. Ok. But Lance, are you really going to do this?” Hunk asked

Lance nodded. “I am. Oh um, can you change me back? It’s been a while and I know my grandmother must know I’ve gone missing and I have no doubt she sent Shiro to try and look for me.”

Hunk nodded and snapped his fingers, and with another strange feeling passing over him, Lance was back to his regular 16 year old self.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this. Aren’t we supposed to be stopping this? I mean, isn’t there a surgery you could get instead of doing this?” Pidge asked, trying still to stop this.

“There is, but the one that would be best for me involves quintessence,” Lance said fixing his jacket, “I’m quintessence sensitive, so I can’t get that surgery. The only one I can get would remove my vocal cords forever and like I told Shiro, I’m more afraid of never being able to sing again then dying.”

Pidge stared at this normal looking teen, who no doubt went through a lot. Cancer was horrible. Both she and Hunk had removed souls from kids much younger than Lance who had succumbed to their cancer and a few of them were quintessence sensitive as well, their bodies rarely reacting positively like their doctors would hope when they’d take the risk. Pidge wondered just how many times Lance rejected the idea of the other surgery.

They were all a little distracted so they didn’t see a tall figure approaching until a familiar prosthetic arm was wrapped around Lance, pinning him to the firm body behind him.

“Caught you, my little sharpshooter.”

Lance flinched and slowly looked over his shoulder to look at the strained smile on Shiro’s face. He was in huge trouble. “h-hi Shiro.”

“‘Hi Shiro’? Is that all you have to say?” Shiro planted his fists on either side of Lance’s head and rubbed furiously, ignoring the screams of pain from his patient and godson. “How about an explanation for your disappearance that your grandmother is furious about?!”

“Ow, ow, ow, ow, stop, stop, stop!” Lance clutched at his abused spots when he was finally released, and turned to Shiro, who had a disappointed look on his face. He hated that look.

“Come on, I’m taking you home. Pick up your toys and let’s go.”

Lance was confused at that comment when he turned around and saw a very familiar pair of lion plushes sitting in the grass of the park he was in. Lance quickly grabbed them before rushing to follow Shiro, scared about what he would tell him.

There was complete silence in the car as they started on their way back to Lance’s house. Lance picked at his jeans in nervousness, waiting for Shiro to start talking. He wasn’t and Lance didn’t want to spend the whole ride in silence.

“So…how mad is my grandmother?”

“Furious. She went to go check on you and you were missing. Your pyjamas weren’t even there. Lance did you sneak out wearing your pyjamas?” Shiro asked

Lance shrugged, “I got to change in the taxi.”

“Lance.” Shiro said sharply. “Look, I know what I said this morning obviously upset you but you need to understand what I’m doing isn’t to make you upset, I’m trying to protect you. You had a fever yesterday that got you pulled out from school again and your suffering from throat cancer. Anything louder than an indoor voice puts you in a lot of pain. I know you really want to be a singer, but you _need_ to put your health first. I lost your parents already Lance. I don’t want to lose you either.”

Lance looked at his lap, hating the disappointment he heard from Shiro. Shiro would tell him how much he was truly glad he had become friends with his parents and how they always helped him in his life. How excited his dad was when he found out his girlfriend, Lance’s mother was pregnant with him. How he gave up the band that made him happy so he could be with his family.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok.” Shiro said, sounding apologetic. Shiro didn’t like making Lance upset but it was a necessary evil sometimes. “Besides it’s not like you went.”

“But I did.” Lance said without thinking, wanting to tell Shiro everything but stopped. He _couldn’t_ tell Shiro everything.

“Wait, what? Lance, did you actually go to the audition? And you got it?”

_‘Yes, yes I did. But I can’t tell Shiro that. There’s no guarantee he’ll believe me about the Shinigami or that I can transform.’_

“Lance?” Shiro pressed

“Modelling. I decided if I can’t sing, the closest thing I can do is modelling.” Lance said, hoping Shiro would believe him

Shiro let out a sigh of relief. “Modelling. Ok, yeah. Modelling is fine. Just don’t do anything to strenuous ok? I don’t want you doing things that could be a risk for your health ok?”

Lance nodded, “I promise. Oh um, by the way. So you know how in certain parts of Japan the legal age is either 18 or 20?”

“Yes? I take it this has something to do with the fact your under both. I guess you put my name under Guardian then?”

Lance nodded. It wasn’t a lie anyway. While in their town, 18 was the legal age, Altea Records stated unless you were living on your own, anyone under 20 had to have a listed guardian, since they needed people to notify if something happened. He was 19 on his form, so still under the legal age and he wasn’t about to put his grandmother on the form. While he did have his address on there, he knew how to bribe their house keeper into hiding it from his grandmother for him if he couldn’t get it himself.

“Ok. Hey who knows? Maybe you’ll get better and can then become a model and a singer. That boyfriend of yours would die.” Shiro teased

Lance turned red. “Akira is not my boyfriend!”

“Then, what do you call your 10 year crush?”

“I, well, it’s not like that. I mean, Akira and I knew each other from the foster home I went to when I was only, what, 3? When he was moving to California, he told me how I felt but I didn’t get the chance to tell him how I felt and then I moved down here to Japan not long after. Without any information, I can’t call him or anything, not even visit. That’s the promise we made before he left. That when we finally saw each other again, we’d both reach our dreams. That’s why I really want to be a singer. If I can get famous enough that my name is heard in places like America, then he’ll be able to find me.”

Shiro took one of his hands off the wheel and put his hand on Lance’s. “I know he will. 10 years, he’s very lucky that you’ve been holding on for so long.” Shiro said, looking like he wanted to say something else but kept it locked away. “Now, let’s think about what we’re going to tell your grandmother so she doesn’t kill us both.”

Lance nodded, not noticing the sudden dark angry aura coming from his bag.

* * *

 

“How is it,” an accented voice growled as the speaker glared down at the half Galran girl, whose eyes where focused on her boots, “that you somehow manage to lose an audition you were already set to win?”

“It’s not my fault! They’re the ones that changed their mind. Obviously they decided to go with that Altean boy because he looked better than a half Galran.” The same alien that Lance had stolen the audition from finally looked up from her shoes to stare into a pair of blue eyes, the purple skin doing nothing to take away from his good looks. His long white hair was tied back and out of his face so he could scowl the girl in front of him.

He gave a mocking smile as he took the girl’s face in his hands, squeezing just enough for her to start yanking on his wrists so he could let go, “Ezor, you silly, silly girl. You actually believe that’s why you lost?”

Ezor pulled the man’s hands away and glared up at him. “Obviously, how else could I have lost?”

“When we made this deal, I asked them if there was anything that could break the deal. This industry will break a deal in a heartbeat if it benefits them better. They said the only thing they could think of that would break the deal is if there was someone who was a much better singer went before you and blew them away. So while you think the only reason the only reason you lost was because of looks, you lost because they heard a much better singer than you, so good in fact, that they cancelled the rest of the audition completely!”

“But his song…”

“Don’t play the idiot Ezor, it doesn’t suit you. Say what you want about how he sang to make yourself feels better. Point is, you lost. And he didn’t even have an agency.” He scoffed when someone knocked on the door. “Come in and you out. I don’t want to see your face right now.”

Ezor let out a furious huff and spun around, ignoring the tall Galra who opened the door but moved when he saw the seething girl storming his way. Once the way was clear, he walked into the office, a shorter man following behind him. Like the girl who just left, he was also half Galra, though he didn’t look like it. His major indicator was the purple stripe on his pale cheek and his hair slowly going from white and purple to black.

The tall Galra looked at the door that blocked Ezor as she loudly cursed before turning to the white haired man. “Everything alright?”

“Let’s just say, my day would have been better had it not been for something so simple to turn out so badly. Now, Thace and our dear Red,” the shorter man glared, “oh I’m sorry. Not on set are we? Keith, what can I do for you?”

The newly named Keith kept his glare as he stared down the white haired man, “all my interviews had the same question about my new song. You rejected all my songs, so I take it you have one.”

His question was waved away with a hand as he went and sat behind his desk, “yes, yes. It’ll have to wait a while because Ezor messed up my plans so now I have to deal with her mess.”

“Is this ‘mess’ the reason she’s out there cursing her head off?” Keith asked

“Altea Records had agreed they’d sign her since they don’t know she’s associated with us. We were finally going to get an edge over them but then some Altean teen came in and stole the show.”

“Well obviously it’s because he’s better singer right?” Keith said matter a factly. “Ezor’s pretty good and her cute deminer would win people over but if his singing was better than Ezor could ever be, it’s no surprise he won.”

Keith wasn’t an idiot. He knew that when he was Red, his Galran white hair and his mark would win over the audiences but he had gone around in disguises, doing street performances and had people who had no clue who he was tell him he could be a singer. He knew if your voice was good enough, record labels would be fighting for a chance to get to you.

“Well look at you, all smart and such. Yes, he was apparently so good, they cancelled the whole event. You’ll get your song, don’t worry, because I can guarantee the two of you will be competing against each other.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “We done?”

“I’d behave if I were you Keith. My father would be more than happy to dock your pay if you keep up that attitude.”

“Your father Lotor, is a manipulative ass.” Keith snapped, stopping himself from saying more when Thace put a hand on his shoulder.

“Watch it.” Lotor said, his eyes narrowing, as he glared at Keith.

Keith glared back and decided to leave before he could give Lotor a reason to dock his pay. Ezor was still cursing as he exited and he rolled his eyes again. Apparently you sign on to Empire Records and you sign yourself into a madhouse.

“Give it up Ezor. You lost.”

“But that brat stole my spot. He wasn’t even that good of a singer!”

“You know as well as I do that I try not to agree with Lotor, but he’s right. Obviously that guy had a singing voice, better than yours. So throw all the fits you like. You. Lost.”

Keith didn’t care if he was being rude. It was the truth. Maybe when he finally got the chance to meet this mystery singer, he could find an excuse to still be in the singing business, if Empire Records didn’t kill his spirit by then.

* * *

 

“Sneaking out of the house and getting Dr. Shirogane to take you to the theme park, have you no shame at all?” Lance’s grandmother scolded.

Lance would rather not put up with this but he knew he had to face the music. He was just glad Shiro was able to come up with the excuse of the theme park so he’d be safe.

“I have never seen such blatant disrespect. You will not be leaving the house for the next week for you selfishness, now go to your room this instant.”

“Yes ma’am. I’m sorry.” Lance quickly apologized before getting up and leaving them room, sighing in relief as he slid the door closed behind him. He barely got out of that. He wasn’t even sure if his grandmother would believe the theme park story. All he knew was that he was in the clear. Punishments didn’t matter because if Shiro told his grandmother he needed Lance to stop by the hospital, she wasn’t going to stop him and they never had the time to wait for her to get a taxi to drive her down, so he was home free. Lance quickly left the main house and went across the yard to his room. After closing the door for the wrap around veranda to keep the cold out he walked into his room and turned on his desk lamp before turning the main room lights on. “Sorry, I kept you guys in there for so long.” He apologized finally opening his bag only he jerked back when Hunk came flying into his face.

“A guy?”

“Huh?”

In a puff of smoke, Hunk floated in front of Lance, looking furious. “You wanted to become a singer, not for pure reasons, but for a guy?”

“Yes?” Lance answered, not seeing the problem

“Who is this guy?” Hunk demanded to know

“Akira? You heard me in the car, I met him when I was in America. What’s the big deal?”

“There is no way you could ever be a good singer with such impure motives! You should quit singing immediately.”

Insulted, Lance yelled back, “what for? I’m going to work really hard at my singing!”

“Doesn’t matter how hard you work because you’ll won’t be good enough with crap intentions!”

“My intentions aren’t crap! And they’re not impure either!”

“Don’t be an idiot Lance. You say that now, but at the back of your mind you’ll be wanting to quit. Besides, you haven’t seen this guy in 10 years and he hasn’t contacted you once? Stop holding onto things that don’t matter because news flash. You were dumped!”

“Hunk!” Pidge said, astounded at how her partner was acting.

“He’s probably got another person over there and forgot all about you.”

Lance felt like he wanted to start crying but anger was still brimming under his skin. “Akira wouldn’t do that.”

“And why not?”

“Because it’s Akira!”

“That is the stupidest thing I ever heard. Someone as disrespectful to singing as you are, will never sing again, so just give it up.”

Angry tears started brimming in Lance’s eyes. He thought Hunk was a nice guy, but he was retracting that statement now.

Pidge flew between them, pushing Hunk back and away from Lance. “Enough. Hunk, knock it off.”

Hunk let out an angry huff before flying up and making a portal through the roof and disappearing through it. Once he was gone, the angry tears started falling from Lance’s eyes, leaving Pidge scrambling trying to figure out what to do. She grabbed a shark covered tissue box and lifted it in front of Lance, who looked up at her with watery eyes.

“I swear he’s actually the nice one.” She said as Lance pulled a tissue out. “I really don’t know why he reacted that badly. I mean, I know he really likes music but I didn’t think it’d be this bad. I’m really sorry. I’ll talk to him and get him to apologize. Ok?” Lance nodded, wipping away his tears. “Hey, um, why don’t you show me a picture of this Akira guy? I’m curious to know what’s got you still holding on after 10 years.”

Lance took the excuse to forget about Hunk and went to his desk and picked up the astronomy book from before. He opened to the right page and picked up a picture when he spotted the corner of a newspaper clipping from another page. He pushed it back in, ignoring it as he handed the picture to Pidge.

“Wow, he is cute. I can totally see waiting for him for 10 years. Wow, how old is he?”

“We’re 4 years apart, so he’d be 20 now.” Just like how old he was in Lance’s dream.

_‘Because I’m doing this Akira doesn’t mean it’s impure. Akira wouldn’t have left me. I know he wouldn’t, because…because…Akira, I wish you were here.’_

Pidge noticed Lance’s down face and realised she’d be better off leaving him alone and talking sense into Hunk.

“Hey, how about you go to bed early? You had a pretty hectic day.” Pidge suggested, handing Akira’s picture back to Lance.

Lance nodded and put the picture away before disappearing into his room. He quickly changed his clothes and turn the lights in his room off, hoping when he woke up, everything would be better.

Pidge watched as the lights behind the separate door turn off before making her own portal to go up through. She was surprised to find Hunk sitting on the roof, sulking. “So there you are.” She said, flying over to him.

“Go away.”

Pidge huffed in annoyance, “then I really have nowhere to go. I sent Lance to bed because it looked like he wasn’t up for company. I’m really surprised at you Hunk. You really upset him. I can’t believe you told him he got dumped.”

“But he has. 10 years Pidge?”

“Does it matter? Look at us, we’re stuck having to still live because we tried ending our lives before fated decided it was ok. If thinking about this guy has kept him going, is it so wrong? Why are you acting like this? Is it really because of the music or are you jealous?”

Hunk looked at Pidge like she was insane. “I’m not you, I have no interest in the same sex. Besides, I can’t even maintain a relationship the way things are now.”

“Oh, yeah. I know.” Pidge teased, looking over at the pyramid shaped robot still floating near her.

“Shut up.” Hunk said, catching on to what she was talking about. Hunk had gotten her that robot. They were actually messengers or helpers to higher level Shinigami, but Pidge wanted her hands on one, so Hunk got her one after a few weeks of being partners. To this day she’d still tease him about having a crush on her, when they both knew it wasn’t true. Didn’t mean it still wasn’t fun to tease about.

“Hey. Do you think this Akira guy could be the one we’re looking for?” Pidge asked

“What does the handbook say about people who try to get in the way of fate?” Hunk asked in reply.

Pidge looked over to the robot, who brought up the handbook automatically allowing the young looking girl to flip through the pages before stopping at one place. “Someone who gets in the way of a human’s fate might be in love with that human.” She glanced over at Hunk, “sure you don’t have a crush on Lance?”

Hunk glared at her. “Not funny.”

_‘Seriously though. If this Akira guy is the person we have to look out for, then we need to put a stop to him. I know Lance really wants to do this singing thing but if I can…I need to try just one more thing.’_

* * *

Hunk wasn’t around and there had been no calls from Shiro about Altea when Lance got up the next morning and after Lance had breakfast with his grandmother he was told that she’d be going out for the afternoon, so after Lance finished the last of his homework his teachers had sent him home with, he was free. At least until Pidge pulled him away from digging for his 4DS he hid from his grandmother, to have his cards read.

He watched as Pidge shuffled the deck of cards in her hands expertly before fanning them out and holding them out for Lance.

“Pick a card.” She said

Lance decided to humour her since she had been trying to make him feel better and pulled one out, but balked at the sight of the skellington with the black cloak and scythe.

“What did you get?” she asked before Lance handed it to her. She knew the Death card meant a change in life and she hoped it would be a big help into her plan. “Wow, Lance. You got a really good one.”

“Good? That’s good?”

“Yep. In fact this one comes with a lucky word. Shopping.”

Lance blinked at that. It sounded strange but shopping did sound like something fun to do. Shiro usually gave him the change whenever they’d go out on the days Lance had to the ‘hospital’, so he had money. Plus, he had a way out, even if he was grounded.

Lance found Coran jamming out to loud rock, using the broom he was supposed to be sweeping the yard with as a guitar, loudly singing. Lance stood there smiling as he waited for the orange hair Altean to notice him. When Coran started hopping around, he turned and saw Lance, hands tucked into his jean pockets, swaying slightly so the tied flannel shirt around his waist followed his movements. Coran pulled the headphones out of his ears and pretended like he had been sweeping all along.

“Lance my boy. What did you need?”

“I want to go shopping.” Lance said, matter of factly, leaving Coran slightly sputtering.

“In case you’ve forgotten, my young sir, you are grounded.” Coran said, trying to be authoritative.

Lance shrugged, not looking bothered. “Ok. Then I guess I’ll have to tell grandmother about you bringing music on the property. You know, even though she demands you never do.”

Please retract the previous statement above about Lance bribing Coran. It was more like blackmailing. And Coran never learned.

Coran dropped his broom, looking at that fake innocent smile on Lance’s face. “Um, well, uhh, why don’t you get your bag and meet me in front of the gate ok?” he said, giving in before picking up the broom and sulking inside.

“You’d think he’d learn by now.” Lance said to himself as he walked back to his room where Pidge in her plush form and his pin and patched covered canvas bag were waiting.

“Did he say yes?” Pidge asked

“Let’s just say I have a certain thing about me that Coran can’t say no to. It’s called blackmail.”

_‘Blackmail, Lance? Huh, don’t judge a book by its cover indeed. Now here’s hoping he’s not observant enough to actually notice what I’m planning.’_ Pidge thought as Lance picked her up, carefully tucking her in his arms. She looked around Lance to see Hunk still on the roof, no doubt still pouting about yesterday. _‘Whatever, let him sulk. He got us into this mess. If this works, I can get us out.’_

It didn’t take them long to get to the nearby shopping district. Lance had been looking at the jewellery on the display case, Pidge sitting next to it on the counter when Coran got Lance’s attention.

“When you’re done in here, can you head to the pavilion?” When Lance nodded, Coran broke into a huge smile. “Excellent, be careful alright, bye!”

Lance picked up a plate pendant necklace when Pidge got his attention.

“I need to go somewhere to.”

Lance was confused by Pidge’s request but went to the closest co-ed bathroom and went into the nearest stall, resting Pidge on the closed seat.

“I need to go, so you wait for me at the pavilion ok? I’ll be there before you know it.”

“Ok.” Lance left the stall, pulling the door closed behind him and walked back out the bathroom. “I didn’t realise Shinigami even went to the bathroom. Huh, who would of thought?”

Pidge listened closely for any sign of Lance before changing back into her normal form. “Rover,” she ordered the robot, “activate identity change.” The pyramid robot started scanning Pidge from the bottom up, her body changing until a copy of Akira stood in her place.

* * *

Lance sat in the shopping area’s pavilion area, spotting Coran haggling away with that Unilu alien he was always haggling with. Lance couldn’t help but let out a laugh at the sight of Coran screaming at the alien only to be screamed back at. However it didn’t fully distract Lance from his thoughts. Specifically, what Hunk told him yesterday. How he couldn’t be a good singer with impure intentions or that Akira forgot about him because he hadn’t contacted him in 10 years. It hurt after what Hunk did to help him but Hunk was wrong. His intentions weren’t impure. He always wanted to be a singer, ever since he found out his father was one. And Akira hadn’t forgotten about him. Lance knew he hadn’t. Because…because Akira…

Akira was standing in front of him.

_‘Huh? What?’_ Lance had been gazing off into space but was snapped out of it when he spotted a familiar tall figure dressed in red, his face framed by his wild long black hair.

It was Akira and he was walking towards him. Lance felt himself stand up at the sight of those brown eyes focused on him. Akira. Akira was here.

But that couldn’t be right. Akira couldn’t be here. Akira wasn’t supposed to be here because, because…it didn’t make sense.

“It’s been a long time Lance.” Akira said, giving him that boyish smile.

Lance felt like he couldn’t breathe the longer he stared at Akira who stared down at him. This wasn’t right. Akira couldn’t…how could…? His chest started to feel tight.

“Lance?”

Lance shook his head. This wasn’t right. Akira, it wasn’t right. His vision was starting the feel blurry and his chest hurt and he couldn’t breathe. Why couldn’t he breathe? Why was Akira here?

Pidge felt concerned when Lance hadn’t responded to her, instead staring the fake Akira down. He was shaking and it looked like he was starting the breath uneasily, like he was…

“No, no, no, you’re not, no, no NO!” Lance yelled, hiding his face in his hands, his whole body shaking as he tried to block the person in front of his face.

“Lance? Lance, what wrong?” Pidge asked, concerned

“NO!” Lance yelled again, one of his hands finding his hair and tugging hard, as he shook his head and fell to his knees. “No, no, you can’t, no.”

“Pidge!” the fake Akira looked up to see Hunk flying down to them. “Back up, he’s having a panic attack!”

“What?”

“Lance!” Coran came running over, blocking Lance from the aliens who had been looking over in concern at Lance’s sudden outburst. “Lance, Lance, its Coran. Can you take a deep breath for me?”

While Coran kept Lance occupied, Pidge disappeared into the crowd before changing back and flying up to where Hunk was.

“Panic attack?” Pidge asked, watching as a few brave people cautiously approached Coran

“When Gyrgan, the Shinigami teacher, took me on retrieval, I saw the girl whose soul we were going to take go into a panic attack. It was the first time we had to wait longer than her end date to retrieve the soul because we didn’t want her leaving scared and in a panic.”

“Don’t panic attacks usually have a trigger? I was looking like Akira, standing right in front of him and he just stared at me before it started. Was Akira his trigger?”

Hunk shrugged and hours seemed to pass when he spotted Shiro running towards the crowd. He got through quick, kneeling down next to Lance and Coran and speaking to them. They got Lance up on his feet, though they could see he was unsteady and started to guide him through the crowd and to the direction Shiro came from, stopping once when a white haired alien or perhaps human ran after them holding Lance’s bag.

“I don’t understand. I never thought he’d react like that.”

“What were you thinking doing that anyway? Even if he didn’t, you can’t just play with someone’s pure feelings like that!”

Pidge looked at Hunk in insult. “Pure feelings? Yesterday, you screamed your head off at Lance because of him wanting to sing for Akira was impure. Suddenly it’s pure now?”

“That was in context to being a singer.” Hunk tried to defend, but he understood what Pidge was trying to get at. He knew what he said was wrong.

“I get what I did was wrong Hunk, but what you said was just as bad about him getting dumped. I heard him say how Akira wasn’t supposed to be here. Ever think that’s because of what you told him? How do you think he felt having to hear his driving force to trying to achieve his dreams didn’t want him anymore?”

Yeah, Hunk knew what he said was horrible and the thought that he could have been the cause for making Lance’s panic attack worse, that made him feel like the worst scum.

* * *

Shiro slid the door to Lance’s living room closed and approached Coran who stood on the wrap around veranda, looking concerned

“How is he?”

“Better. I did have to give him a small sedative to get him to calm down. Do you know what happened?”

Coran shook his head. “When I went over after I heard him scream, there was a man standing there but I didn’t get a good look at him. He kept mentioning Akira though.”

Shiro felt his hand start to form a fist. Akira, of course. Now it made sense why Lance was triggered into a panic attack. The reason he wanted to bring up that thought when he and Lance had been talking about Akira the day before. Except he knew if he did, Lance would be angry and become cold towards him and everyone who told him the one thing he wouldn’t hear.

“Akira is someone Lance knew when he was living in America, at the foster house.”

Coran nodded. “Right, Lance’s grandmother told me about that.”

“Speaking of his grandmother, I need you to do me a favour. Don’t tell her about what happened today.”

“Huh?”

“If she hears about this and about Akira, it won’t end well, trust me.”

“Is this Akira, a nice person?” Coran asked

“He is, it’s just…something happened between him and Lance. And it’s affected him. Look, just don’t tell his grandmother and don’t bring it up with Lance. I don’t know if he’ll remember much when he wakes up and I don’t want to make him more upset.” Shiro explained, knowing his answer was confusing but it’s what he had to do. He knew it was wrong to keep doing this for Lance’s sake, but what choice did he have?

Coran really wanted to bug Shiro for more answers but he decided to give up when he could see Shiro was planning on keeping his mouth shut. “Very well. I won’t say anything. We should leave him to rest.”

Shiro nodded, looking over his shoulder in case Lance decided to wake up but with no sounds coming from the room, he followed Coran into the main house. Pidge poked her head out to see that they were finally alone with Lance. She floated back to Lance room, where he was asleep on his futon, looking much calmer then he was earlier. She felt horrible. From what she understood, something happened between Lance and Akira, which had to of been bad because of how Lance reacted at the sight of Akira. Even if it wasn’t that bad, Pidge never should have tried to do what she did. Hunk was right, she should have never played with Lance’s feelings like that.

“It’s confusing,” Hunk said, sitting cross legged near Lance’s head. “He says that he wants to find Akira, but when he sees him he freaks out.”

“We don’t know the whole story. Maybe Lance felt like he wasn’t ready to tell him how he felt. Remember what he said in the car, he wants to be able to find him when he fulfilled his promise.”

Hunk let out a sigh. They didn’t know the whole story. It made what he said to Lance that much worse. They waited for Lance to get up and the sun had set by the time he finally seemed to wake up. Lance moaned, feeling groggy and confused. He felt himself on his futon and pulled an arm out from the duvet to press the heel of his palm against his forehead, trying to clear his head.

“…kira?”

“Lance?”

Lance looked over and looked through blurry eyes at the figure leaning over him. It wasn’t Akira. The face was too round and the hair wasn’t as wild and crazy. The cat ears were another big indication.

“…unk.” Lance cleared his throat. “Hunk?”

“You’re awake. How do you feel?”

Lance blinked slowly up at the Shinigami, trying to make sense of his muddled mind. What had happened? Akira…

“I saw Akira.”

“Um…not really. That wasn’t Akira. That was Pidge.”

“Huh?”

“Most Shinigami have the ability to change their appearance. I’m good at changing other people and Pidge has Rover, the robot, to help her change her appearance.”

Lance was silent as his blinked to clear his fuzzy vision. Eventually he was able to look up at Hunk staring down at him with a concerned and guilty look on his face.

“Right, of course it wasn’t him. Why would Akira be here?”

“Lance, listen. About what I said yesterday…I was being devil’s advocate. I don’t know the whole story between you and Akira and I just judged based on what I heard. Those things I said, I never should have said them. I’m so sorry and I understand if you don’t forgive me. I wouldn’t. I was cruel and harsh and I should have been more understanding and-”

“Hunk,” Lance interrupted, “its ok. I thought about it when I was waiting for Coran and…I should have more faith in Akira. Singing is something I’ve always wanted to do, ever since I found out my dad was one and my mom ran away for music. Their love passed on to me and I can feel it even more whenever I sing. I promised Akira that when I saw him again, I’d be a singer and then, I’d finally have the courage to tell him how I feel. I want to keep that promise, because…maybe when he finally finds me, I can finally be brave enough to tell him how I feel.”

“You really want to do this huh?”

Lance nodded. His attention was then captured by something dangling over his head. He turned to see Pidge standing on the other side, holding a small dog whistle on a chain over Lance, not really looking at him.

“According to our report, we’ve decided to follow you around because there was talk about you possibly getting an operation and sometimes we might get stuck elsewhere so when you really need us, just blow on this. We’ll hear you.” Pidge glanced over at Lance. “I’m also really sorry about what I did. It doesn’t matter how much easier it’d be if you didn’t do this, I should of never tried to do what I did.”

Lance gently tugged the whistle out of Pidge’s hand, looking at it. “It’s ok. I think it just…reaffirmed what I already know.”

“So, we’re doing this. We are breaking protocol and helping our charge do exactly what we don’t want them to do.” Hunk said

“We’re in so much trouble if we’re found out.” Pidge pointed out

Hunk shrugged, “when are we not? Might as well end with a bang huh?”


	3. The Prince's manager

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When you were so busy in the morning, you almost forget to update. I'm also working on Keith's b-day fic so I've been busy. Just a couple of context things, a chabudai looks like [this](https://www.suttonprojekt.com/shop/chabudai).

Lance sighed as he sunk lower in the bath. Technically, the bath was just supposed to be for relaxing but with the week he had, Lance decided to rebel and add a bath bomb into the water. Hunk was in his own large bowl, enjoying some of the water himself, the still fizzing lump in his bowl. It had been a while since the incident at the pavilion. Hunk and Pidge never wanted to bring it up, so they never did and neither did Lance. Hunk had been doing his best to get into Lance’s good graces, even though Lance had already forgiven Hunk.

“This is heaven. Do you do this all the time?”

“No, I try not to. Grandmother would get annoyed if the pipes got clogged with glitter again, though technically the last time that happened Shiro messed up and got me ones that weren’t from LUSH. LUSH bath bombs are made with seaweed so they don’t clog.”

“Your grandmother is a lot to deal with. She spent what, 20 minutes going over your table manners? You were the perfect gentlemen.” Hunk complained, remembering dinner earlier

Lance let out a small laugh. He knew his grandmother was much but having to deal with it since he was 9, Lance got used to it pretty quick. Didn’t mean he liked it but it was usually easier to just give in then try and fight it. Lance tried fighting and it usually never ended well.

Lance got out of the bath and got changed before filling a new bowl up for Pidge and after waving a bubble wand in the water, left Pidge to relax. He carried Hunk into his living room, turning his head away when Hunk decided to shake the water off.

“Hey, use your magic. You’re not a real lion.” Lance said, putting Hunk to rest of the chabudai table. He was going over to his desk when he heard footsteps and the rice paper door sliding open.

“Lance, glad I caught you out of the bath. Shiro’s on the phone for you.” Coran said.

Lance was glad that Coran hadn’t heard him talking to Hunk. He took the extension phone and told Coran he’d put it back on his way to school the next day, which got Coran to leave so he could answer without Coran trying to eavesdrop.

“Hi Shiro. Aren’t you on night shift?”

_“Only until 1 am, but I wanted to ask that you come to the hospital after school.”_

Lance raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

_“Well I got a call from your new manager. She wants to meet you tomorrow officially.”_

“My manager? Oh, manager!” Lance had almost completely forgotten that only a while ago, with Hunk’s help, Lance had won the audition for Altea Studios. Lance was a signed singer now and he had a manager.

Who might be expecting to meet a 19 year old Altean and not a 16 year old human.

“Right, manager.” Lance said, wheezing a bit at the remembrance of his secret. Shiro did not know he could change into an Altean because of a blood pill Hunk gave him and he wasn’t so sure how his manager would take it, no matter what kind of world they lived in. But the manager was just coming to meet him, it wouldn’t be so bad

_“Are you ok? Do you not want to do modelling anymore?”_

“No! No, it’s not that. It’s just…this is suddenly so real now. It’s kinda strange.” Lance lied

Shiro laughed over the phone. _“Trust me, you have nothing to worry about. The manager for your dad’s band was an interesting character. We’re just meeting them tomorrow.”_

“We?”

_“Well according to you, their rules state if you’re under 20…”_

Right, Lance forgot about that. While in their town, 18 was the legal age, according to company rules in Altea, if the person under contract was under 20, there had to be a guardian to call unless certain circumstances stopped them from doing so. Shiro would have to be with him when he met his manager. Who, again, would be expecting to meet a 19 year old, not a 16 year old.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then. I’ll come straight after school.” Lance said, trying to think up a plan

_“Call me from the school’s office and I’ll order you a car to come get you. I’d do it myself but I have to be back here by 9 for a check in with one of my patients. I’ll see you then?”_

“Yep. I better go. I need to finish some last minute homework and pack my bag.” Lance said, trying to get off the phone so he could start panicking.

_“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow.”_

Once the phone was hung up, Lance let out a frustrated groan and dropped to his knees. Oh god, what did he just get himself into?

“Lance?” he heard Hunk ask concerned

“My manager wants to meet me tomorrow and thanks to their rule about people under 20, Shiro will be with me. My manager is expecting a 19 year old Altean, not a 16 year old kid with throat cancer. Ugg, what am I going to do?”

“I’m glad you asked.” Lance looked up to see Pidge floating near him in a fuzzy ankle length green robe with a hood that had pockets for her ears. “Don’t worry, I can think of a plan.”

“I think you should think of a new plan Lance. Pidge can’t be trusted with this.” Hunk said from the table finally getting himself dry and back into his regular form

“Excuse you, rudeness will not be tolerated from the kohai.”

“That’s cause you’re a terrible senpai.”

“Excuse me?!”

Lance let out a laugh. Well, he could count on one thing at the very least, Pidge and Hunk making him laugh.

* * *

 

Lance sat at his desk in his class, staring out the window, ignoring the homeroom teacher giving out announcements. Lance didn’t really like school. Back when he lived in America at the foster home, he was easily able to make friends, even when it was discovered he was easily able to get sick. His friends there slowed down for him so that he’d never be alone and if they couldn’t for whatever reason, Akira was there to keep him company. Moving to Japan changed that. Their health care was revolutionary, with most Olkari’s migrating there as well as any Altean alchemist who focused in healing, so Lance not being able to be healed was odd to everyone. It wasn’t his fault he was quintessence sensitive. So people avoided him, not wanting to be associated with the weird cancer kid. It sucked and it hurt really, to see people not give him the time of day just because of one thing about himself but he pushed through. He was used to wearing masks.

“Kurogane-McClain.” Lance turned away from the sunny skies he had been gazing at and looked at his homeroom teacher, “you’ll be on class cleaning duty as well.”

“I have a doctor’s appointment after school.” Lance said

“Oh. Of course. Umm, Ulta, you’ll take over for Kurogane.”

Like he expected, the class burst into whispers about how unfair it was. Lance was used to this. While most places had robots to do the cleaning, students were still expected to clean their classrooms. Lance was able to avoid it because most of the smells from the cleaning solutions would irritate his nose and usually sent him into a coughing fit. The most he’d do was run the calibrating program for the electric white board, which only happened once every two weeks, and other than checking that each desk’s charging station was still working, Lance rarely did anything.

“Must be nice to not do anything.” One of his classmates sneered loud enough for Lance to hear him. “Weak ass halfu.”

Lance would never understand how people thought halfu was an insult to him. Most of the population on Earth were halfus because of all the different aliens that lived with them. Being half Cuban and half Japanese wasn’t an insult to him.

Lance turned and let out a fake sneeze onto his tormentor. “Oops, I gave you cancer. Oh wait, that’s just your personality. Afraid there’s no cure for that.”

“You little!” the male classmate stood up, his fist raised to hit Lance when the teacher’s voice rose.

“What do you think you’re doing Song? Fighting in class in front of a teacher?”

“But he-” Li Song – a halfu himself with a human mother and Puigan father, if the markings on his cheeks were anything to go by – tried to say but the teacher cut him off.

“I don’t want to hear it. There will be no fighting in my classroom and especially not with a sick student. Go stand out in the hallway!”

Song let out a huff of annoyance and stomped passed not before letting his hand ‘accidently’ hit Lance in the back of the head, to which Lance kicked his foot out to the back of one of Song’s knees, making him stumble. He spun around when he caught his balance, aiming to hit Lance again this time but was once again stopped by the teacher.

“Song! Out!”

Lance waved at Song, who gave him a furious glare before stomping out of the classroom. Lance turned back to the window, ignoring the whispers that started up again. Just a normal day at school. While he was still worried about what he was going to do meeting his manager with Shiro in the room, Pidge assured him her plan was flawless. Now he just needed to wait a few hours to get out of this hell hole.

During lunch, Lance went up to the roof, hiding behind the building that housed the stairs so if anyone else came up, they wouldn’t see him as easily.

“Those guys in your class were really rude! Halfu. Asshole, you're one too!” Pidge steamed

Lance opened his temperature controlled bento box, grinning down at the freshly made dumplings Coran had made for him that morning. The bottom compartment held rice and veggies, but Lance was more concerned with the dumplings.

“It’s not an issue. It’s been like this since I moved down here. If they want to make fun of me because I’m Cuban and Japanese, that’s their problem. It just makes it that much better when they come begging me for help with language class homework and I get to tell them no.” Lance said, opening his packet of soy sauce and dumping half of it on the cover of his bento so he could start devouring his dumplings.

“It doesn’t mean they have any right to act like that.” Pidge said

“Pidge, I’m used to it.” Lance said, starting on his rice, not paying attention to the looks the Shinigami were giving him.

“Gez, your crush is still in America, your grandmother is horrible and all your classmates are assholes. Isn’t it just a bit lonely?”

Lance shrugged. It was but like he said, he got used to it quick. Even if he didn’t like it, he couldn’t make people like him if they didn’t want to have anything to do with him.

The school couldn’t have ended quickly enough. Lance ignore the glares he got from those in charge of cleaning the classroom for the afternoon and quickly made it to the front office, where he was greeted kindly by the secretary, who gave him a smile when he complimented her.

_“Doctor Shirogane.”_ Shiro answered when Lance called his office directly.

“This is your favourite patient in the world, requesting a really cute doctor to pick him up.”

_“Hi Lance.”_ Shiro replied, sighing at the usual way Lance would talk to him. _“I can’t come get you unfortunately. The paediatrics needed an extra hand with one of their more fussy patients so I have ordered a taxi for you. In fact, it should be there soon.”_

“Cool. What about…” Lance trailed off, not really wanting to advertise that he was going into ‘modelling’ in the main office.

_“She is almost here. Come up to my floor and to the private room we usually use to get away from your grandmother when you get here ok?”_

Lance nodded, even though Shiro couldn’t see him. “Alright, I’ll see you soon. Bye.”

“Another doctor appointment?” the secretary asked, pretty much cementing the fact he didn’t want to air out his laundry in this office. The workers were such gossips.

“Yep. I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a nice evening.” Lance dashed off to the shoe lockers to switch back into his outdoor shoes before any more questions could be asked. The taxi was waiting for Lance like Shiro said and as he climbed in, he remembered how he escaped Hunk and Pidge in a taxi. Now they were helping him achieve his dream. It was funny how things worked out.

It didn’t take long to get to the hospital. With quick hellos to the front desk staff and any doctors he passed that he knew, Lance was on the elevator up to the floor where Shiro worked.

“Pidge, are you sure this is gonna work?” Lance asked starting to feel nervous

“Don’t worry, just listen to what I tell you and everything will work out.” Pidge said, which didn’t do much to curb his nerves.

He took a deep breath as the doors opened and he got off, waving to the Galra doctor behind the desk as he walked to the room Shiro had been talking about. When Lance would try and get away from his grandmother with the excuse he had to see Shiro, Shiro let him stay in the room by himself if Shiro was too busy at the moment to keep him company and even for a hospital, Lance felt more comfortable there than he did at home. He knocked on the door and heard Shiro tell him to come in.

_‘Here goes nothing.’_

Lance opened the door, immediately spotting Shiro sitting in one of the arm chairs, a woman sitting across from him. She was Altean and her hair was pure white, just like Altean royalty. Her markings were pink and she looked very welcoming.

“There he is. We’ve been waiting for you. This is Allura, your manager.”

In an accented voice, Allura introduced herself, “it’s nice to meet you. I’m Allura from RangePro.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well. I’m Kurogane-McClain Lance.”

“Lance! Did you forget everything already?” Pidge yelled, when Lance realised what he just said.

“Oh, sorry. I mean I’m Jeremy, Lance’s little brother.” Lance corrected.

“Little brother?” he heard Shiro question

“Lance, get him outside now! Move, move, move!” Pidge ordered, Hunk looking like he knew exactly where this plan was headed

“Right, um, Shiro? Can I talk to you outside really quick? I’m so sorry.” Lance apologized to Allura as he yanked on Shiro’s arm to get him outside, ignoring Shiro’s warnings about his prosthetic.

“Ow, Lance. Easy. I know this doesn’t come off easy but you still need to be careful.” Shiro warned as he rubbed the part where his prosthetic meet his arm.

Lance could see Hunk and Pidge were curious about what Shiro was talking about, but Lance ignored that. “Sorry, I just wanted to explain to you so you don’t embarrass yourself. It’s been quite a while since you were in the music business.”

“I’ll pretend not to be insulted.” Shiro drawled

“Jeremy is going to be my stage name. You know, less chance of Grandmother finding out and all. The little brother is a catchphrase that the company uses, so I refer to myself like that.”

“Huh.” Shiro said, tilting his head slightly as he took the information in. “guess I have been out of it for a long time. Alright. Well, let’s go back in. Your manager is going to be your biggest help in your career so let’s make sure you really impress her ok?”

Lance happily nodded, “yes sir.”

“Pidge, I think we should be really cautious.” Hunk warned, having a bad feeling.

“Oh calm down Hunk, you worry too much.” Pidge said, waving his worries off. Hunk knew this was going to come back and bite them in the ass.

“Sorry about that. He hadn’t explained the whole story to me.” Shiro apologised as Lance sat in the arm chair next to Shiro.

“No, it’s fine.”

“Allow us to start over. This is Jeremy, the little brother.”

“It’s very nice to meet you.”

“And you as well.” Allura said pulling a folder out of her bag that sat next to her before looking slightly concerned. “And the person in question…?”

“At school.” Lance said, thinking on his feet. This hadn’t been planned for.

“Oh, school?”

“Yes, he goes to school like he should.” Shiro answered, thinking they were talking about Lance. Hunk could see this heading downhill already.

“Should we wait for them then?”

Lance couldn’t stop his cringe. This is exactly what he didn’t want to happen. Allura was waiting for a 19 year old Altean to come and Shiro thought the 16 year old human was who she wanted.

“Lance, tell her he’ll be here soon!” Pidge demanded

“He’ll be here soon.” Lance relayed, ignoring the questioning look Shiro gave him.

“Oh, well alright. Then, Dr. Shirogane can take a look at the arrangements.”

“Of course.”

Lance let out a relived sigh. He was starting to see what Hunk meant about the plan falling apart.

“Um Allura? I wanted to ask you something. He’s going to very busy from now on isn’t he?”

“Yes. Would you like me to call the school?”

“Yes, that’s one thing.” When Lance gave Shiro his own confused look, Shiro leaned over and whispered, “There’s the issue with your throat right?”

Shit, Lance really hoped Shiro didn’t say anything about that.

“There’s no need to worry. Lance will be around people his own age or a bit older and most of them are in school themselves. They worked hard to get to those places so they don’t want lose it just to do what they do.”

College, Allura was talking about college students. Most high schools allowed regular entrance without having to pass an entrance exam. Colleges on the other hand, not so much. Lance’s school was one of the few high schools that had entrance exams, so he hoped Shiro wouldn’t catch on.

“Well, that’s a relief.”

“The biggest event we’ll have to worry about is his debut. Because he’s fresh from auditions, we have a lot to do in a short amount of time, especially since he’s not part of a talent agency, the biggest thing being voice training and dance lessons.”

“Voice training? Wait, if Lance needs voice training, wouldn’t that mean Lance is becoming a singer?”

Lance didn’t even think, he just started yanking on Shiro’s lab coat to get his attention, anything to get him from questioning Allura further. Of course when he turned to Lance, his mind was completely blank to what he could tell Shiro. He glanced over at Pidge for help.

“Umm, uhh, gimme a sec. Rover!” the pyramid shaped robot appeared from the bag on Hunk’s backpack beeping in greeting. “Gimme the handbook. No wait, how is that gonna help me? Gimmie the Shinigami cell phone.”

“What’s a cell phone gonna do in this situation? The line just goes directly to the boss anyway.” Hunk said

“Cell phone?” Lance asked out loud, his curiosity getting the better of him

“Oh, are you going to call him?” Allura asked, the question Shiro asked forgotten at the thought of meeting who she thought was Lance.

“Yes, that’s exactly what we’re going to do, an hour long phone call. Come on.” Seeming to forget that anything she did to Lance would seem strange to those who couldn’t see them, she grabbed Lance’s wrist and yanked him out of seat, which involved Lance having to climb over the arm chair and almost crashing into the door, leaving Shiro and Allura to stare in utter confusion after him.

* * *

“So let’s recap. Because of Pidge’s mind-numbing plan, Allura, Lance’s manager, thinks Lance is Jeremy, Lance’s little brother and Shiro, Lance’s guardian, thinks Jeremy is Lance’s stage name. The only problem is if Shiro finds out the truth, well I helped Lance to get into the audition for nothing.” Hunk said as he, Lance and Pidge hid out in a nearby alcove.

Lance sighed. “I might have no choice but to tell Shiro the truth. Of course there’s also the chance he’ll be even more overprotective and then I’ll never be able to become a singer.”

“Or the more obvious fact that he might not even believe you. You’re the only human who can see us and we still don’t even know why.” Pidge reminded

“Then what do you suggest, because so far your plan isn’t working.” Lance snapped, starting to feel frustrated

Pidge’s eyes narrowed behind the circular glasses that sat on her nose. “Watch it mister. Don’t think snapping at me is going to do you any favours. Rover, activate identity change.” Rover started to scan Pidge from head to toe, her appearance changing as the light swept up until a Lance stood in Pidge’s place.

“What the-Pidge? Wait, is this how you-?” Lance asked                                 

“Yes, yes, yes, moving on. I’ve gotten this taken care of. Just watch.” The Pidge- Lance said as she disappeared around the corner. Lance tried running after her only to go stumbling back when he saw that Shiro was outside the room, no doubt looking for Lance.

“Shiro!” the fake Lance yelled, getting the doctor’s attention

“Lance, what’s going on? Why did you run off like that? I got worried.”

“Sorry, I was starting to feel a little sick.”

Shiro looked concerned. “How are you feeling now? Do you want to take a rest somewhere? I can explain to Allura if you need me to.”

“No! No, I’m fine. Really.”

Shiro didn’t look like he fully believed the fake Lance but he nodded anyway. “Alright, if you say so.”

“Don’t worry; it was just your imagination.”

Lance felt himself cringing. While Pidge sounded like him, her impersonation of his personality sounded off. “Oh this is not going to end well. Why did I let her talk me into this?”

“By the way, Lance, about what Allura was talking about? The voice lessons thing, usually you need voice lessons if you’re going into singing.”

“Oh, that’s because…of a commercial! It’s training for an audition for a commercial, where in it, the person is going to debut as a singer. Isn’t it perfect? Now let’s stop stalling, we need to get back to Allura and finish the whole discussion.” The Pidge-Lance said, as she pushed Shiro back to the room.

“Do you think he was convinced?” Lance asked Hunk, not looking he was even convinced

“Not a chance.”                                               

“Ahh!” the two jumped when they heard the Pidge-Lance yell. “Shiro, look! It looks like it’s an emergency!” Shiro stumbled forward as he pushed.

“Wait, Lance! There aren’t emergencies up on this floor!” Shiro tried to remind before he was shoved into an elevator, unable to get back out by the time the doors closed.

“What the hell! Pidge!” Lance yelled

Rover went flying over to Pidge and scanned her all over again until instead of a Lance, it was a Shiro standing in her place. Lance could feel his confidence in Pidge completely disappearing. This wasn’t going to go well, Lance just knew it.

“And what exactly do you plan to do now?” Hunk asked for Lance

“With him out of the way, I can take care of the manager. Don’t worry.”

“Why does that statement scare me more than anything?” Lance asked himself

Hunk stuck close to Pidge as she opened the door, where Allura quickly put her tea cup down at the sight of what she thought was Shiro. “Um?”

“Something wrong?”

“Where’s the boy?” She asked

“Oh, he wasn’t feeling well. He’s resting in one of the free rooms. He’ll be much better later. But first Allura?”

Allura blinked in questioning, “yes?” she let out a yelp when warm hands pulled her up from her seat and blinked at Shiro’s face as Pidge-Shiro held her hands.

“I’ve decided to put my complete trust into you. I know that I can safely leave Lance in your hands.”

Hunk watched as Allura’s mark started to glow brightly, any other marks on her body faintly glowing under her clothes.

“Oh, um, Dr. Shirogane. I’m honoured.” Allura managed to get out.

“Wow. You are good at manipulating people aren’t you?” Hunk said watching the scene in front of him.

The fake Shiro didn’t do dignify Hunk with response as she discreetly snapped her fingers so that the phone in the room that connected to the front desk would ring. The fake Shiro let Allura’s hands go and answered, while Allura tried fanning herself off, the markings on her face showing she wasn’t really succeeding as they continued to glow.

“Yes, this is Shirogane…yes…yes, I understand.” The fake Shiro hung up and turned to Allura. “Allura, there seem to be visitors waiting for you in the parking lot.”

“Oh? Are there? Strange, I wonder who they could be. I’ll be right back then.”

Pidge-Shiro watched Allura leave and once the door was closed, snapped to get Rover to scan her once more until Allura was standing in her place

“Exactly how many times do you plan to change?” Hunk asked

“If this goes well, I won’t need to after this. My stomach is rumbling though.”

Hunk raised an eyebrow, remembering the last time Pidge went through so many changes with Rover. “Huh, I wonder why.” He stated sarcastically but Pidge seemed to ignore him.

Meanwhile Lance peaked around the corner he ducked behind when he saw Allura exiting.

“This is getting out of hand. I have to tell Shiro the truth.”

“Lance!” the blue eyed teen saw Shiro approaching him looking annoyed and frustrated as well as exasperated. “There wasn’t any emergency on this floor or any other one. What’s going on? I thought this would be the last place you’d try one of your impractical jokes.”

_‘Remind me to kill Pidge if Shiro decides not to be my guardian for Altea Records because of her ridiculous plan.’_

“Shiro, um…”

“What is it? Is something wrong or did you see a wolf?” Shiro asked, sounding exasperated

“Um, not exactly but Shinigami on the other hand.”

“Shinigami? Lance, come on. I don’t know what’s wrong with you but this isn’t the best time for you jokes.”

“It’s not a joke, it’s-” Lance was cut off when he heard the door to the private room open and looked around Shiro to see Allura poking her head out the door. Except he knew that couldn’t be Allura because he just saw her leave, which meant…

“What are you two doing standing there? Come in.” the Pidge-Allura said, gesturing for the two men to come in.

Lance wasn’t very confident he would get out of this alive.

* * *

They all sat in the private room, the fake Allura looking perfectly calm, while Lance felt like a tense spring.

“You should leave this to Pidge. I know I don’t really have the most amount of trust in her, which is totally valid in my opinion, but I think this might work, just barely.” Hunk told Lance

That didn’t really instil trust into Lance.

“Dr. Shirogane?” the fake Allura started

“Yes?”             

“Lance is truly amazing. He’s an amazing boy that’s just brimming with talent.”

Lance was someone who got flustered by compliments but he wasn’t so sure how he felt about this one.

Pidge-Allura stood and grabbed Shiro’s hands, much like she had done to the real Allura when she had been Shiro, “please, put your trust in me. I will take great care of Lance.”

“Oh, um, sure. I’ll trust you.”

Rover started beeping about something, Lance didn’t know what, but it seemed Pidge did as she let out an annoyed sigh, muttering, “So annoying,” before letting go of Shiro’s hands and leaving the room. Lance had never felt more confused until the door opened and the real Allura walked in.

“There wasn’t anyone waiting for me. Are you sure you heard correctly?”

“Me? Heard what?” Shiro asked, confused

“You told me I had visitors waiting for me.” Allura said

Knowing that if he didn’t stop this, everything could unravel, Lance got up and bowed low from his waist.

“From now on Kurogane-McClain Lance will be depending on you.”

He guessed his sudden outburst must have caught the two adults off guard as they both said, “it’s my pleasure.” Point was, he had done it. Both thought they were given permission and Lance, somehow and with no thanks with Pidge – mostly, she had changed into the different people – was able to still get what he wanted in the end. Shiro was going to be his guardian on file so he could be a singer and Allura was his manager.

“I really want Lance to do his best.” Lance straightens up at Shiro’s admition. Shiro looked at Lance like he was a proud parent. “Since I can’t give you the proper treatment, as your doctor, I plan on taking the place of your parents. I told your father I’d take care of you and I’m not planning on breaking that promise. Work hard ok?”

Lance nodded. Shiro put up with a lot from him and even though Shiro always talked about Lance’s parents, he knew Shiro would do anything for him. Lance never knew his father but Shiro was the closest thing to him and he’d make him proud. “I will, space dad.”

Shiro let out an exasperated laugh at the sound of Lance’s nickname for him, hearing Allura stifle a small giggle. “Watch it sharpshooter.” Shiro said back.

“Lance.” Lance looked away from Shiro to see Hunk phasing though the door. He hadn’t even seen the brown haired Shinigami leave. “Can you come out here for a minute?”

“Uhh, I need to go to the bathroom really quick. I’ll be right back,” Lance said rushing off to the door. He closed the door behind him and saw Hunk standing in the lobby area by a couch where a smaller body was laying. “What’s going on?” Lance asked, keeping an eye out for anyone listening in.

“See for yourself.” Hunk said, nodding to the moaning figure on the couch. Pidge was faced planted on the couch, her arms tucked under her stomach and her green tail curling around her leg. Lance could also see her ears pressed to her head. Rover floated above her beeping sympathetically. “Rover is actually used as a messenger robot in the underworld where Shinigami live but I stole one for Pidge and she got him to connect to her powers. Most Shinigami have some ability of changing appearance, for example I’m better at changing others, like you while Pidge can change how she looks easily. However, do it too many times in a small amount of time and you get this.”

Pidge finally pried her face from the cushion and laid her head sideways so she could see Hunk and Lance.

“Why are there two of you?” Pidge asked lethargically, “one, two three, four…I’m so confused. And I’m going to be sick.”

Hunk sighed as Pidge started moaning louder in discomfort. “I’m usually the one who’s got the weak stomach, but she can be worse. But hey, at least things kinda worked right?”

“I guess. Oh wait Pidge, don’t face plant into the couch again. Recovery position, get on your side.” Lance ordered

Meanwhile back in the private room, Shiro looked over the contract for Lance, taking in everything to make sure Lance was in good hands.

“Um, Dr. Shirogane?” Allura said, getting Shiro’s attention. He noticed that the markings on her cheeks were glowing pink and he could just see the markings her body had glowing from under her clothes. He was wondering what had gotten her into a flustered state

“Yes?”

“Forgive me if I’m wrong, but you said your full name is Takashi Shirogane. Didn’t you used to play the keyboard for the band ‘The Paladins’?”

Oh, well. Shiro hadn’t been in this position in such a long time. While Shiro didn’t mind retelling stories from when he was in the band with Lance, he didn’t like having to do it with other people he wasn’t comfortable with. It was embarrassing.

“Um, yes.”

He should have guessed what happened next but it still surprised him when Allura shot up from her seat and let out a screech of excitement.

“It is you! The Black Lion Champion! Oh my Alfor, I don’t know if you remember me, I doubt it, but we met once. I was an idol when I was younger but my time on stage didn’t last very long. I was the Empress of Altea, Juniberry. Oh, I never thought I’d ever get the chance to meet you again.”

“Oh, thank you. Empress of Altea right? Sounds slightly familiar.” Barely.

“Really? Oh wow. I’ve always been a huge fan of yours still. This might be unprofessional, but do you think you could sign something for me?” Allura asked digging through her bag before she stopped. “Oh wait, does Lance have a cell?”

Shiro blinked, his head a little dizzy from the change of attitude and subject but shook his head at the question anyway. “Lance’s schedule is a little strict. Not that he can’t go anywhere, it’s just he doesn’t have the friends to go anywhere.”

“Really? None at all?”

Shiro shook his head again, thinking of the look Lance would have on his face when he first started high school and those who went to middle school with him didn’t hesitate to let everyone know who Lance was, a kid who couldn’t be cured of his cancer. Shiro knew that Lance was perfectly capable of making friends, he could do it just fine here at the hospital with anyone who didn’t know his diagnosis but it seemed that even after a century of living with different people from different planets all over the solar system, bullies and ignorant people still exist. It killed Shiro that he couldn’t do anything to help Lance and that Lance had become used to this.

“How is it that even after a century of living with different cultures and types of people that rude and ignorant people still exist?” Allura seemed to ask herself but Shiro knew it was her acknowledging what Shiro wanted to say. “Don’t worry. If anyone if thinks of messing with him, I’ll take care of them.”

Shiro couldn’t help but smile at that. Allura might be a bit of an obsessed fan, but he felt confident that he could trust Lance’s safety to her.

* * *

“Jeremy.” Lance looked up to see Allura approaching him, her bag in hand. He guessed everything was set now. “Your brother is a college student or high school student right?”

“College.”

Allura pulled out a box that held what Lance could tell was the newest Samsung phone on it, judging from the blue background of the holographic screen on the picture. “He doesn’t have a cell phone and it’d be hard to get in contact with us without one. What college does he go to? I was going to drop it off.”

“Oh, uh, Garrison Galaxy?” it was the first one Lance could think of. It was connected with his high school and honestly, Lance hadn’t even given any thought to trying to get into any colleges.

“Oh, that’s not far from here. I’ll head over there now. It was nice to meet you. Maybe we’ll be seeing each other if your brother brings you along to events.”

“Uhh, sure.” That was going to have to be something he’d have to fix sometime soon.

The closest elevator opened its door with no one in it, no doubt by a mispressed button by one of its previous passengers.

“Perfect timing. Have a nice evening Jeremy.” Allura called as she ran to catch the elevator.

“Now what are you going to do?” Hunk asked. “Lance doesn’t actually go to Garrison Galaxy.”

“Luckily, I have a faster way down. Come on, Pidge stay there ok?” with a moan as an answer, Lance rushed off down a hallway pulling his wallet out his pocket and pulled out an ID card with Shiro’s picture on and tapped it against a card reader that opened the doors to another elevator. “This is the elevator used to get to the emergency rooms and it’s faster than the one Allura’s on. Hunk, I think it’s time for Allura to meet Lance, Jeremy’s big brother.”

“One Altean singing sensation coming up,” Hunk said, snapping his fingers and watched as Lance turned from a 16 year old human to a 19 year old Altean. He even went ahead and had his school uniform turn into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt that held the name of Garrison Galaxy.

“How do I look?” Lance asked as he combed his long hair away from his face

“Hopefully like someone who got out of class late.”

“Good enough for me.” Lance rushed out of the elevator when it reached the ground floor and Lance ran over to where visitor parking was. Because of the late hour, the large parking lot was mostly empty so Lance was able to quickly spot Allura, her long white hair looking pink in the sunset. “Allura!” he yelled

She turned and watched Lance stop in front of her, breathing heavily as he tried to catch his breath. When she got a better look at his face, a smile came to her face. “Lance, correct?”

“Yes. I’m so sorry I’m so late. My class ran really late and I don’t have a cell phone and I couldn’t get a hold of Shiro.”

“It’s ok. Dr. Shirogane and I have discussed everything. He’s signed off on everything and your little brother was very helpful.”

“I’m glad, I just wanted the chance to introduce myself properly. My name is Kurogane-McClain Lance, Lance being my first name. It’s nice to meet you.”

“I am Allura, you’re manager from RangePro. It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.” Allura answered as she took Lance’s hand to shake. “We’ll have a lot of work to do from now on so be prepared ok? But don’t hesitate to come to me ok?”

“I will, please take care of me.”

_‘Akira, I’m getting closer to fulling my dream. I’ll find you soon. I promise.’_


	4. The Prince's first song

Thace placed the fob on the lock to the apartment, pulling the door open when the lock beeped and unlocked. The whole apartment was dark except for the light coming from the kitchen, but even if it wasn’t on, his Galra eyes would help him navigate. He walked into the living room, straight for the couch that faced the partially closed curtained balcony and looked over the back of it. Keith was asleep on the couch, his arm curved around a red cat that was curled up themselves and the singer was dressed down in sweats, his black hair pulled back showing off his clear face.

“Keith? Keith, wake up.” Thace said, shaking Keith’s arm. The movement woke up the cat, who let out a questioning chirp before turning and snuggling closer to their owner. Cute, but Thace still had to wake Keith up. “Keith?”

Keith let out his own questioning noise as he blinked his eyes open and turned on his back enough to see Thace leaning over him. He let out a much louder groan and turned away. “What?” he whined

“Wake up. You have a full schedule tomorrow.” Thace said, shaking Keith again, ignoring Keith’s weak attempts to swat him away. “Snap, wake your owner up.” He told the red cat, who just blinked up at him before flicking their fluffy tail in Keith’s face

Thace sighed when he saw Keith wasn’t moving so he went and turned all the lights on which made Keith groan even louder.

“Turn them off.” He demanded but Thace ignored him as he grabbed a bag of cat treats from a cupboard in the kitchen. At that sound of the treats, Keith’s cat got up and jumped up on the top of the couch before jumping down and quickly started winding their way around Thace’s legs. Seeing his napping buddy was gone, Keith finally pushed himself up. He rubbed at his head, pulling much of his hair out of its ponytail so he yanked the hair tie to unleash his hair. He got up and walked into the kitchen, watching his cat, a British long hair, stand on her hind legs to eat the treats from Thace’s hands. “Stop spoiling my cat.”

“Get Snap to move and get you to move. If you got up when I told you, I wouldn’t have to spoil her.”

Ruffling his hair again, making it messier, Keith asked, “why are you here anyway? It’s my day off.”

“You have a full schedule tomorrow and I thought I should tell you now before Lotor tries dragging you into his office to tell you, the guy who won the Altea Records auditions? He’s been assigned a manager and his debut date has been set.” Thace said standing up as Snap finished eating and went over to her owner, who picked her up

“Is it soon?” Keith asked

“Very, start of May.”

That was close. The start of May was in a week and a half. He only knew one producer who moved that quickly who worked mostly with Altea Record artist.

“Did Kolivan get him?” Keith asked, already knowing the answer

“Who else moves that quickly?”

Keith knew that Kolivan would be a good choice for a producer, thing was, sometimes Kolivan’s image choices for the new singers he got just felt forced. Keith didn’t know anything about the person who stole Ezor’s spot except he sang New Future, one of the most popular concert only songs the band ‘The Paladins’ sang and he sang it so amazingly that the group of judges saw that he was a better choice than Ezor. He didn’t know if Kolivan’s image for the singer would work. He just hoped it wouldn’t cause the singer to crash and burn before Keith got the chance to meet him.

* * *

 

Lance looked around the entrance of the train station he stood in front of, in his Altean disguise, waiting for Allura. She had called him last night to let him know that his Saturday was going to be sacrificed to meet the producer who would be in charge of his debut. He still couldn’t believe it was coming up so soon.

“Nervous?” Hunk asked as he floated next to Lance

“A bit. I mean, it’s actually happening. After I record my song and debut, it all starts from here.”

“Before you know it, you’ll be popular in America and you can find Akira.” Hunk said, to which Lance replied with a smile

“Yeah. But song first. Need to do that before anything else.”

“Lance!” Lance turned to see Allura running towards him. “Hi, were you waiting long?”

Lance shook his head. “No, I just got here early.”

“Alright then. Ready?”

“I’m a little nervous.” Lance confessed

Putting her arm around Lance, Allura walked them forward as she rubbed his arms in a comforting way. “I know, meeting your producer can be terrifying, but I know for a fact that you’ll be perfectly fine. You were chosen by the best producer in the industry. He’s a bit rough around the edges, but he’s an amazing producer so you are in good hands.”

“I guess.”

“Just introduce yourself and listen to what he has to say, ok? Don’t look so terrified, this is only the beginning.”

“Right. Yeah, I can do this. What’s the worst that can happen?”

It’s not that Lance was wrong. At first glance Kolivan looked scary. Even sitting behind his desk, Lance could tell he was tall, his stern face not giving much and if it wasn’t for the fact Lance was used to the scar on Shiro’s nose, he would of felt compiled to stare at the one on Kolivan’s eye.

“Lance, this is Kolivan. He’ll be your producer.”                 

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Kurogane-McClain Lance.”

He watched as Kolivan gave him a once over and nodded, “the trouble with your debut is coming up with a cool and elite name.”

Lance raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Sorry?”

Before he could ask for anything more, one of Kolivan’s phones that sat on the desk started flashing, which got its owner attention. “Yes?...if it’s regarding that matter, you know that I fully support you. I look forward to working with you soon.” He hung up and put his attention back on Lance. “You have no need to worry. I have full confidence that we will turn you into the sexy singer the fangirls have been begging for.”

“Sexy?” Lance didn’t think he was at all sexy. He’d been called cute or handsome but never sexy and honestly, Lance didn’t think it fit him.

Lance went to ask for more clarification but he was interrupted once again by one of Kolivan’s phones, which the producer picked up as he opened the laptop sitting in front of him. “Yes?...you’ll be late? Well nothing much we can do about that. Just means another late night. I’ll see you soon then?” he hung up before flipping the screen around and leaning it back enough for Lance to see it. “This will be your debut song. If you could read over the lyrics.”

“Um, sure.” Lance was starting to feel like he wasn’t being listened to. He leaned down and read the song title. “Love me Duo? Is that supposed to be ‘Do’?”

Kolivan blinked at Lance before swivelling the computer screen back around to look at it. “It was misspelt?”

“Yeah, do is spelt with a ‘D’ and ‘O’.”

It honestly surprised Lance how with so many new languages, that most people in Japan still had troubles with English. He guess since it was considered a common tongue, that when it mixed with other translations some things got a bit mixed up. It didn’t mean people didn’t love any English songs any artist would sing, it usually meant it took them a while to figure out the meaning of the lyrics

“Lance, exactly how many languages do you speak?” Allura asked

“Fluently, Japanese, English and Spanish. I’m learning Altean now.” Lance said proudly

Kolivan whistled as he typed in his correction. “Most college students only know 2 languages at most and the other is usually an alien language. Seems like you struck gold Allura.” Kolivan complimented as he turned the screen back over to Lance again.

“Ok. Um, Love Me Do Forever? A tempting kiss, the two of us in a non-stop Love Hurricane?” Lance started reading the rest of the lyrics in his head, getting more and more uncomfortable as he read. Lance was usually used to singing any of his father’s other song or any of his other favourite singers, but Lance knew without a doubt he did not want to sing this one.

“For now, we need to focus on your debut. A week and a half isn’t a whole lot of time but because you were good enough to get the audition cancelled, the company wants you to be out on the scene sometime soon, so we’ll need to move fast. We’ll have you come in-”

“Excuse me?” Lance interrupted, surprising both Allura and Kolivan, “do you really want me to sing this?”

“Are you unsatisfied with it?” Kolivan asked

“Um, I don’t really know if unsatisfied is really the word I’d use. How do I say this without sounding rude?” Lance didn’t get a chance to say what he wanted to because his mouth was covered by Allura’s hand and started to be pushed back

“I’m so sorry. Can you excuse us for just a minute please?” she asked, not waiting for an answer as she opened the door and shoved Lance outside, quietly closing the door behind them before facing Lance. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Saying how I feel? What? What did I do wrong?”

“You can’t say things like that, you have to act happier. This is Kolivan. He can be a bit high-strung and mean sometimes, but he’s the best in the business. Every record label is trying to have him contracted to only work with only their artists. He’s responsible for some of the biggest names out there, such as Red and the band the Rebels. You ever heard of the singer Aru?” Lance nodded. “That was his first singer and even though she isn’t on the scene anymore, she’s still well known. Lance, you have such a huge opportunity. Don’t throw it away.”

“I’m not saying that. It’s just his image for me isn’t how I want to be seen. Plus that song won’t be able to reach Akira-” Lance cut himself off. He hadn’t been planning on saying anything about Akira to Allura.

“Why don’t you try writing your own song then?” the two Alteans turned to see Kolivan leaning against the door jam, one of his phones in his hand. “we’re going to be on a very tight schedule so if I do end up picking your song, I’ll need to come up with a new melody and then you’ll need to get the recording done in a day so we can put the CD together if we can even hope to make the deadline. But from what I understand, you want to put your feelings into the song?” Lance nodded. “Well then you should try your hand at it.”

“Lance, I’m leaving this one on you.” Allura whispered, but Lance’s mind was made up

“I’ll do it. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I’ll make sure to really impress you with my song.”

“Lance, that was not an invitation!” Allura hissed surprised Lance even took the chance.

“Ugg, there’s a problem with one of my sound guys. Kurogane-McClain, I’m giving you 3 days to come back with a song. I’d like to see that Altea didn’t make a mistake to choose you.”

“Yes sir. Thank you again.” Lance said, bowing low in thanks as Kolivan walked away. Once he was gone, Lance turned to Allura, who was staring him down. “What?”

“First. I really hope you know what you got yourself in to. Second, Lance.” Lance didn’t trust that smile. “Who’s Akira?”

Nothing went wrong per say. But Lance was about to be in a whole lot of difficulty.

* * *

 

“So he’s a crush huh? 10 years?” Allura asked, Lance nodding. He learned very quickly that you couldn’t hide anything from Allura so he told her a much edited version of his life with Akira.

“He moved to California and I moved down here to Japan so we couldn’t really keep in contact. We did promise that we’d achieve our dreams when we met again. I mean, he’s not the only reason I want to be a singer but he’s my driving force.” Lance said, thinking of those warm brown eyes that always seemed to be smiling at him.

“He must really mean a lot.” At Lance’s nod, Allura gave him a smile and took Lance’s hands in her. “Well, then I will do my very best to help your name reach to all the planets and I will be cheering for you. Since we’re being honest, that song Kolivan had for you didn’t have the best points.”

“But it would have been popular right?”

Allura shrugged, “maybe, but I always say you should be excited to sing all the songs you sing on stage or in the studio. You know, you’re not the only one to refuse a song from Kolivan when first working with him. Red did it too.”

Lance hadn’t been fully focused at all the names Allura dropped before but he was paying attention now. “I’m sorry, did you say Red, as in the Galran Assassin of music, Red?”

“I take it you’ve heard of him?”

“Heard of him? Allura, I love his music! His music is just so, full of feeling and just, god. I can’t put it into words but listening to his music just makes me feel better when I’m having a bad day. I’ve even got his newest song set as my ring tone.” Lance gushed. He knew it was a bit silly but it was true. Lance just happened to hear Red’s song on the radio when Shiro was driving him back from the hospital and the upbeat tempo and the singing had brightened Lance’s mood when he’d been feeling down. When any new single or album came out, he’d bug Shiro to download it for him onto the doctor’s phone since he couldn’t get the iPod passed his grandmother. The one he used at the audition was a very old school one that held the songs and melodies of The Paladins songs. But after getting his own phone, he had gotten them transferred over and spent a good amount of time deciding what song he wanted as his ring tone.

“Well, unfortunately for you, you won’t be meeting him from Kolivan anytime soon. He’s signed to Empire Records and they have a producer on staff and after Kolivan helped Red make his debut, he was put under the rule of that producer.” Allura explained

Lance wilted a bit but shook his head. If he was lucky, he’d get the chance to meet him at some point.

“Anyway, point is, Red wrote his own debut song and look where it got him. I don’t want you to just limit yourself to songs that would become popular. I want you to be able to debut with a song you feel comfortable with and that you’re excited about. So I want to write a good song and show Kolivan just why Altea Records picked you, ok?”

Filled with the confidence Allura had in him, Lance nodded, “I won’t let you down Allura.”

The feeling stayed with Lance as he got home and ate dinner with his grandmother until he got back into his room. He felt Hunk and Pidge lean over his shoulder as he picked up a pencil and put on the paper. They seemed to be waiting for something to happen as Lance stared at the paper. Finally Hunk decided to ask.

“Um, Lance?”

“You gonna, um, write something?” Pidge asked

Lance let out a large breath and let the pencil in his hand drop before his head followed. “I can’t.”

“Why not? You were so rearing for this earlier. What, do you not have an idea?” Hunk asked

“Kinda.” Lance lifted his head a bit as he rested his arms on the desk and looked completely embarrassed. “I’ve never written a song before.”

Silence filled the room and Lance could feel the judgemental stares he was getting from the Shinigami.

“Your dad was in a band. Your doctor was in that band.” Pidge said slowly

“I also live with a woman who hates any mention of music. Shiro got me a guitar when I was young but I haven’t gotten the chance to go over to his place enough to practise. Sometimes it can be hard to get him to even talk about ‘The Paladins’.”

“Ok, still though. Isn’t there anything? Like, what do you want the song to do to people when they hear it? Do you want them to cry, to be filled with courage, to laugh?” Hunk asked

Lance shrugged his shoulders. “I want to be able to tell Akira ‘I’m here. Please come find me.’”

“Ok, try writing it about Akira then. Just write how you feel about him.” Hunk suggested

Lance nodded and picked up the pencil again slowly as he thought about the 20 year old he wanted to see again. He just had to get something down that could say the words Lance wanted to say but wasn’t ready to yet. So he wrote and wrote some more, knowing it wasn’t the best but he wanted a starting point.

He worked through most of the night. Pidge had actually fallen asleep in Lance’s own futon while Hunk waited for the moment where Lance’s body decided to give into his tiredness. He had lasted to about almost 3 am when his desk and the mostly finished song became his pillow but Hunk made sure to cover him with a spare blanket he found in the closet. Hunk knew that song writing had to be hard, and it was even worse with the 3 day time limit but Hunk couldn’t help but admire Lance’s determination. He could have just accepted the song, but Lance was honest about how he wanted to let his feelings be heard. Hunk was sure Lance would be able to do it, seeing how Lance already put so much emotion to his own father’s songs. He did hope it wouldn’t be songs later for Lance to be able to get there.

* * *

 

Lance bit into his slice of jam covered toast he had swiped from the kitchen when he woke up at his desk, covered in the blanket he tended to take whenever he had to do overnight hospital stays – which were much rarer than they used to be, thank god – and Hunk asleep next to his desk, with a green cat eared Shinigami asleep in his own futon. Lance wondered how long they stayed up while he struggled. He looked over from last minute changes he was fixing on the lyrics to see Hunk stretching, his orange headband becoming lopsided before he fixed it.

“Hey, you’re up.” Hunk said when he noticed Lance.

“Yeah. What time did I pass out?”

“Like 3 am? You were working pretty hard. Did you finish?”

Lance nodded slowly. “I did, but…I don’t think it’s that good.”

“Well, let’s judge shall we?” jolting back in surprise when a portal appeared suddenly on his desk, Lance watched as Pidge phased through his desk, the paper with his lyrics in hand. He sat there in anticipation as Pidge’s tawny eyes read the lyrics, the look on her face telling all. “This is, uhh…well, it’s kinda…?”

“Crap?” Lance provided

“Oh come on, can’t be that bad.” Hunk said, hand held out for the paper, which Pidge handed over. “If you’re smiling, it’s a clear day. When you’re sad, it’s like a great flood. Whenever I’m by your side, there’s always peace and smiles. Oh, um, this is…interesting.”

“Or just really crappy.” Lance threw in again, stuffing the last bit of toast in his mouth. “I stayed up for so long, that I actually forgot about my disease because I wanted this to be perfect and apparently I have nothing to show for it.”

“That’s not true. I mean you started. When we first start out as trainees, we’re told that sometimes we might fail in guiding a spirit back to the underworld, leaving them to become a ghost. Sometimes it’s because we can’t get through to them but we learn how to connect with them to make them feel safe. Song writing is the same way. You did just start. You can’t expect it to be perfect on the first try. I mean, didn’t you say the Altea Records audition was your third one?” Pidge asked

She was right. He couldn’t true expect himself to be as amazing as his dad in one try. His dad had been doing it for years. Lance never gave it a try when he was in America and after moving to Japan, he lived with someone who stifled his music dreams. Lance just had to go at song writing with the same determination he had when it came to denying Shiro the possibility of surgery that Lance never wanted.

“I guess. It’s just…I know what I want to say, I just can’t put it in words.” Lance said

“Well…why not go out on a date?” at the confused looks she was getting, Pidge explained. “Think about it. Akira takes you out, woos you a little, makes you feel good and it’s the first time you’ve seen him in 10 years so now that everything’s gone well on your date so you stand in front of him and you tell him. But before we get to that part, we need to experience the wooing part.”

Lance kind of understood what Pidge was trying to get at but there was one problem. “Who would I go with? I don’t have any friends remember and it can’t be Allura.”

Pidge almost forget how Lance’s classmates had treated him and how Lance had spent the time at lunch on the school’s roof. It was still hard to believe someone like Lance didn’t have friends. “Um, ok. We can fix this. Uhh…”

“Pidge, it’s not like we’re going to get a miracle popping out all of a sudden.” Hunk said, seeing Pidge struggle to figure out an idea.

Like an answer from the gods, they heard footsteps approach and watched as the door to the room slid open and Shiro stood on the other side, his medical bag in hand.

“Lance, I was in the area and I remembered we tricked your grandmother with the fake cold, so I thought I come ‘check up on you’. How are you feeling?”

Pidge raised an eyebrow and looked down at Hunk who was staring at Shiro with utter surprise on his face.

“I stand corrected. Apparently miracles do happen.” Hunk said

“And they come as 6’2, muscled packages.” Lance said, already liking the idea. It wasn’t like he hadn’t fantasied about going out on a date with Shiro. Maybe not as much since he was older now, but he wasn’t about to let that stop him. “Hey, Shiro?”

Shiro blinked, feeling like he was walking into a trap. “Yes?”

“I need another favour.”

Feeling cornered, Shiro asked, “what is it?”

“Can you take me on a date? For work purposes obviously.”

Shiro blinked in utter confusion and shook his head slightly. “Huh? Can I take you on a what? What work purpose is this for?”

* * *

 

Lance bounced in his seat as he watched the scenery go by. He still couldn’t believe that he never took the chance in the years he lived in Japan to go exploring anywhere outside his prefecture and even then it was limited.

“I’ve never been to Harajuku before. Where are we going?”

“Well, if I had more notice, I would try making reservations at a themed café but because you sprang this on me, thanks by the way, we’ll have to go to a regular café.”

Looking slightly guilty, Lance shrugged, “sorry. It’s just for my debut; they’re letting me pair up with a singer who didn’t want to be in their own video, so I’d be playing them. They’re a little stuck so they asked for any date stories, which I don’t have because no person in my school’s interested in the cancer kid.”

“Hey,” Shiro reprimanded, “it not your fault they can’t see how amazing you are. I swear, I have half a mind sometimes to go up and talk to these kids.”

“Shiro, you might be a semi-popular singer from back in the days, but the most you’ll get out of those guys are scoffs and reasons to antagonize me even more.”

That fact didn’t make Shiro feel even better but he decided to focus on Lance instead. Getting him out of the house had been easy and Lance had been looking healthy enough for them to be out long enough for as long as Lance wanted, within reason of his grandmother not finding out.

“What’s your perfect first date then? I’ll do my best to woo you.”

“Oh Shiro, are you planning on whisking me away?” Lance teased

“If it keeps a smile on your face, maybe.” Shiro replied, relishing in the fact he turned Lance red. It still surprised him how easy it was to do that with how confident he acted and it was fun too if it meant Lance would be completely embarrassed. He could never get Lance’s dad to be that embarrassed, he had a lot to catch up on.

He let Lance drag him around to different shops, watching Lance as he explored the different fashion that was offered while also letting Lance suggest him different options of clothing. After shopping, Lance dragged him to the closest arcade where he got intensely frustrated with the UFO catchers, though Shiro wasn’t much better, to his hurt pride. They had finished at a café, where Lance indulged in a parfait.

“Good?” Shiro asked as he took a sip of his own latte.

Lance nodded his mouth full of granola and strawberry sauce. “It’s good. Thanks for getting it for me.”

“No problem. So how is the date going? Think you can tell that singer a good story?”

Sticking his spoon in the yogurt to keep it still, Lance nodded. “It was almost like I was out with Akira.”

“You never did anything like this with him?” Shiro asked

Lance shook his head. “Our adventures were usually if I was feeling well, we’d go out into the big field behind the house and look at the stars or we’d stay in the sunroom if I wasn’t feeling well. I never got the chance to do anything like this with him.”

“Well I’m sorry I stole that chance from him. I’m sure he’d recognise you if the video was anything like what the two of you would do.”

“Yeah. Once I debut, I’ll be one step closer to seeing him again.” Lance said, smiling to himself at the thought.

“Should I gag slightly at the Akira fest above us?” Pidge asked, as she and Hunk sat in their plush forms in Lance’s tote bag

“And you were telling me to be nice. Calm down.” Hunk replied, to which Pidge stuck her tongue out at.

Shiro looked at his watch as Lance started to finish his parfait. “After you’re done, we should head out. It’ll take half an hour to 45 minutes to get back to your house and I think 2 hours away from you grandmother is enough.”

“Are you sure?” Lance asked rhetorically, but Shiro still gave him his dad look, to which Lance sighed at. “Fine.” He only had a day more to write a song so as much as he rather avoid his grandmother longer, he had work to do that was more important than how he and his grandmother got along. He finished a last spoonful and started to get up when he felt a pain in his throat that sent him into a coughing fit.

“Lance?” Shiro asked, standing up

“I’m fine.” Lance rasped out before he dissolved into coughing again, falling back into his chair

* * *

 

“Lance? Lance!”

A fever. While Lance had thought the song writing was hard, he felt happy that the desire to finish it made him forget about how sick his body was. Apparently while he forgot, his body didn’t, which was why he was in bed, a cold compress on his forehead and the foul taste of medicine still in the back of his throat. He did feel slightly guilty that he made Shiro worry when he started coughing uncontrollably. He had been in full doctor mood since he brought Lance back home.

“Seems like your temperature has gone down a little.” Shiro said after waving the thermometer around his forehead. “At least the medicine is working.”

“I’m sorry for making you worry.” Lance apologized

“I’m your doctor Lance, I’m supposed to worry. I’m just surprised how suddenly this fever spiked though. I should have known the day out would have been a huge exert of energy on you.” Shiro said, looking guilty.

“Umm, well…I actually stayed up last night.” Lance admitted

“Stayed up how long?” Shiro asked slowly.

“Umm…3 am?”

Shiro let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Lance, you should never stay up that late in your condition. Was this because of your modelling job?” Lance didn’t answer because technically it was for his job. “Lance. If this is what you’re doing, then maybe I should pull you from this.”

“No!” Lance pushed himself up and grabbed at Shiro’s arm. “Shiro, please! I have to debut. This is my only chance to be able to find Akira again. Please, please, please, don’t pull me out of this. I swear I’ll do what you want, just don’t pull me out of this.”

Shiro wanted to deny what Lance wanted but the begging and pleading face was too much to ignore. He sighed, hoping he wouldn’t regret it. “Alright. I won’t pull you out of it, but you have to promise not to stay up too late or do anything strenuous to your health. Do you swear?”

“I promise. This is the last time I’ll do this. I swear.”

Shiro stared Lance down, like he was trying to see if Lance was lying but he could tell Lance would keep his word. “Alright. Now lay down, you’re still sick.” Shiro pushed as his shoulder to get him to lie down and wet the compress again to put on Lance’s forehead. “I’ll go tell your grandmother that your fever’s broke. Do you need anything else?”

Lance shook his head before speaking, “actually, can I ask you something?”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“In the band, was my dad the one who wrote the songs?”

“Why the sudden fascination?” Shiro asked

Lance shrugged as best he could lying down. “Working with this singer made me curious. So?”

Shiro took a deep breath and let it out as he thought about that carefree man who had been his best friend and had helped bring the boy in front of him into the world. “He did. I helped sometimes and so did our singer.”

“Was it hard?”

“The days of no sleep that man would have. If it wasn’t me chastising him, it was your mother. I certainly hope if you ever decided to write your first song, you don’t act like your dad and stay up like you did last night. Though, the only one I allowed is the love song your father wrote for your mother.”

“Really? He wrote her a song? What was it called?” Lance asked

“Eternal Snow. It was a concert only song and he never had the melody recorded, but when you heard it, even though it was about snow you were filled with the warmth of their love.”

Lance wanted to do that, to have his love be heard so people and Akira would understand what he was trying to say. He had to get that song done, he had to get it done today. He let Shiro pull his duvet on him much higher to tuck him in, while wishing him a good night and once Lance was sure he’d left and gone into the main house when he extracted himself from his futon. He got Pidge and Hunk’s attention when he pulled the shoji door open and walked into his living room area and approached his desk

“Lance? What are you doing up? You should be resting.” Hunk said as he and Pidge floated towards him as he sat as his desk.

“I don’t have time to rest. I’ve only got a day left to write this song. Hunk?” Lance asked, looking up at the male Shinigami

“Hmm, what is it?”

“Can you turn me into my 19 year old self? That way we won’t have to worry about my health.”

Hunk felt himself getting angry. “Didn’t you just promise Shiro that you wouldn’t do any strenuous to your health? You shouldn’t force yourself to do this. The producer, Kolivan, his song would be a big hit wouldn’t it?”

“I don’t want a big hit song. I want a song to be able to send my feelings to Akira.”

Hunk let out an angered huff and opened the shoji door that lead outside. “If this Akira is willing to have you strain yourself sick just to hear from you, then I don’t know if I want to help anymore.” With that, he took off into the sky, Pidge flying out after him, calling for him to slow down.

“Hunk! Hunk, wait!” Lance yelled running after them when he stiffened at the pain from his throat that sent him to his knees, letting out pain whimpers.

Lance didn’t want to feel like this, to be hindered by his disease to the point of not being able to talk. And if Hunk didn’t want to help him anymore, then forget about getting his feelings out to Akira, he’d never be able to sing again and after being able to sing loudly at the audition, Lance didn’t want to lose that opportunity again. What was he supposed to do?

* * *

 

Hunk felt slightly guilty that he upset Lance again, but his anger this time was real. He got it, Akira was Lance’s driving force. He understood that Lance wanted nothing more than to see the guy he had fallen for again after so long but Hunk didn’t think it should be at the expense of his health. It angered him that Lance was willing to hurt himself even more just to see Akira. He hoped that if Akira knew this, he’d be upset, but the idea that someone who obviously held feelings for Lance yet hadn’t called after 10 years made Hunk question that.

“Hunk!” he looked over his shoulder to see Pidge flying towards him. “What’s with you? Are you angry with Akira?”

“How can I not be? I get his purpose in Lance’s life but I can’t accept how Lance is wanting to do this, it just doesn’t seem-” Hunk cut himself off when he saw something. He hadn’t noticed he’d been flying around the area where Altea Records was as well as the building that houses Kolivan’s office. It just so happened that he was quite close to Kolivan’s office. Close enough to see Allura arguing with Kolivan. “That’s Allura and Kolivan.”

“The producer? Why are they arguing?” Pidge asked as she looked at the scene from the large floor to ceiling windows

“I don’t know. Come on.”

The two created portals for them to phase their heads through, catching that tail end of the argument.

“What do you mean the song’s already been chosen? You promised Lance he could write his own, and now you’re going behind his back?” Allura yelled, furious at the calm and collected Galra sitting in his seat in front of her.

“The songs have been altered. I know you like the kid Allura, but if this project fails, we could be headed for disaster. We made a deal to have a person chosen ahead of time and we switched it last minute and if ends up ruining it all? I’m not losing my cred nor letting you lose your job thanks to an amateur.”

“Thank you for your concern, but a promise is a promise.” Allura stressed

Kolivan scoffed as he got up, heading to his Keurig, where he had been letting his coffee cool. “You can’t think like that in this world. Maybe that’s why your career ended so badly.”

Allura turned to glare insulted at Kolivan at the same time Hunk phased his foot through to trip Kolivan, who went crashing down into his Keurig, which spilt the still hot drink on Kolivan as well as the tower of coffee mugs deciding to go tipping over and falling on Kolivan’s head as well.

Allura’s glare turned into stifled laughter as she watched Kolivan screech more at the hot liquid on him then the broken glass around him

“Nice one Hunk! That oughta teach him. And how dare he say Allura’s niceness was the reason her idol career ended.” Pidge said, mad on Allura’s account

“A guy like this could never understand Lance’s feelings.” Hunk said, looking proud of himself when he stopped. “Damn it. I did it again.”

“What?”                                                                          

“Getting mad at someone who did the same thing I did.”

“Hunk,” Pidge put her hand on his shoulder, “last time, yeah, you messed up but this time was different. Lance needs to learn his limits and not to relay on changing to get him through things when he should take it slow. I do think you should explain that to him, maybe without the hostility.”

“Yeah. Come on.” Pidge and Hunk flew out, leaving Allura to clean up the mess they left, not even being the slightest bit careful with Kolivan’s injuries.

It was dark in Lance’s room except for the silicon LED cat light that gently changed colour, which casted odd shadows on the lump under the duvet. Hunk took a deep breath. He was a nice person who rarely got angry but apologizing to Lance seemed harder for some reason.

“Lance, about what I said earlier…I know it sounded angry, but I’m not, I just…I don’t really understand how you can…ugg, why is this so hard to say?”

The shoji door that led from Lance’s bedroom to the wrap around veranda opened behind them suddenly.

“Hunk?” Lance was sitting on the veranda, a breakfast table set up in front of him, an open notebook sitting on the surface. While the storm shutters were closed to keep the cold air out, Lance was still wrapped in the blanket Hunk had put on him the night before.

“Lance? Wait, then what’s?” Hunk asked, looking at the lump he thought was Lance

“My grandmother kept checking on me so I used that to trick her. She can’t see me on the porch from this side of the house so she never suspected I’d be out here. Hunk?”

“Hmm?” Hunk hummed distractedly, still slightly embarrassed that he had been tricked so easily. At least he knew it worked with Lance’ grandmother.

“I wanted to apologize.” That got Hunk’s attention. Hunk was in the wrong, why did Lance want to apologize? “I’ve been depending on you guys for a lot. Debuting and seeing Akira again are part of my dream but it feels like I haven’t been putting any effort to it. I want this song to be perfect but I’m so focused on that, that what you said which makes perfect sense, just refuses to compute. Akira would hate it if I hurt myself just to get this done. I think that’s why I haven’t been able to write anything.”

Hunk realised there were a bunch of crumpled paper around Lance. “You’ve been writing this whole time?” he asked, impressed with how much Lance pushed forward even after what Hunk said

Lance nodded. “I’ve thrown away a lot. I think I’m beginning to see why my dad would stay up so late. But, it’s been fun doing this. When you said that you weren’t sure if you wanted to help me anymore, it felt horrible. I didn’t think of Akira or anything, other than I didn’t want to lose the ability to sing as loud as I wanted without having this stupid disease hinder me. I guess it goes to show how much I love music. This feeling I have when I’m around music, it makes my heart skip and honestly, I never want it to stop.”

Hunk shared Lance’s smile. “That’s it.”

“Hmm?”

“That feeling you have? Write with that to tell your message.” Hunk said

“But what if I don’t do it well?” Lance asked, looking at the mess of failed attempts.

“You told us just fine. I know you’ll be able to show it in your song.”

Lance was nervous but he decided to take their trust and go with it. If they believed it, then he had to have faith that he could do it.

“Alright, I’ll give it a shot.”

“Alright. We don’t really need sleep so we’ll help you as much as we can.” Pidge pointed out but Lance shook his head.

“I just need support.”

“Then support we’ll give. Turn to a new page, let’s see if we can get this out without you staying up till 3 am. We don’t want to give Shiro an excuse to keep you in here.” Hunk said, Lance nodding as he turned to a new page and picked up his pencil. He had work to do.

* * *

 

“Here you go. This is my song I wrote. I did my best to convey my feelings in them.” Lance said, laying the finished lyrics on Kolivan’s desk. His eyes drifted to the large plaster on his forehead that Allura seemed to smirk at whenever he rubbed at. He was also sure he heard Hunk giggling about it but he couldn’t be sure.

“I’ll take a look then. Fully finished and everything. Most would have given me one chorus and set of lines they want in it.” Kolivan said, turning his chair to the side the paper’s in hand. Lance watched as his gold eyes moved across the page and Lance felt his hands tighten on the bottom of the jacket in nervousness. The look he saw Allura giving him wasn’t helping but he calmed himself down. Hunk and Pidge were with him the whole time and if they felt like it was amazing, then he had to believe it to. He noticed Kolivan’s eyes grow wide and steeled himself, ready for whatever Kolivan was going to say.

“I guess it can’t be helped.”

Lance felt the air leave his body. He didn’t do it after all.

“Hey, it's Kolivan. About the song for Kurogane-McClain, the new singer?...Yes, well I’ve chosen a different song.” Kolivan said to whoever was on the other line

“Wait, does that mean?” Allura asked

“Looks like I lost. I’ll be honest, I didn’t think you could do it but you did. The concept and feeling is all there. Definitely a change in the image I was going for you but I think it works better.” Kolivan said

“Lance! You did it! Your song was chosen!” Allura cheered, pulling Lance into a hug.

“Um, thank you. Oh my gosh, I didn’t think I’d be able to do it.” Lance said

“I knew you could.” Allura said, looking extremely proud.

“Let’s hope you can keep that cheer. You still have less than a week to debut so we have to move fast. Most of today and tomorrow, I need to come up with a melody to go with the lyrics and you need and come record it, which means more late nights to finish the final project. Plus you need to do your magazine interview so people can get to know you. Oh, speaking of which, what do you plan to have as your stage name?”

“Stage name?” Lance asked

“What everyone will know you as in the singing world. Did you want to you use your real name?”

_‘And have my grandmother and classmates know who I am? No thanks.’_ Lance thought, shaking his head, trying to think of something, anything that would fit. Then he remembered the reason he wanted Hunk to turn him into an Altean. When he was a kid, he read a story about an Altean prince who was a chosen Paladin for the famous Altean Voltron Lions. Lance always felt like they were similar, trying to show people how strong they were but usually seen as nothing but a clown. The prince’s sister was next in line and was always said to be the real Paladin for the Prince’s lion and the Prince always felt like he was second best no matter what. One of his favourite quotes from it between the prince and another Paladin was, “in the presence of the moon, who pays attention to the stars? If someone can’t take the time to appreciate the stars that shine brightly no matter what, then they don’t deserve to gaze upon them.”

Needless to say Lance felt power from those lines, to know that people who didn’t see the real him shouldn’t be allowed to be around him and he didn’t have to pay attention to them.

“If its ok, do you think my stage name can be Isamu, Prince of Altea?” Lance asked, thinking of the main character he grew to love.

“Prince of Altea huh? Gez Allura, you’ve certainly influenced him.” Kolivan said, Lance looking at Allura in confusion. He knew Allura was a singer, but he didn’t know her stage name. He hadn’t been there when she gushed at Shiro.

“Don’t ask.” Was all she said to him.

“Well alright then. Get ready, your highness. You’ve got a lot of work ahead of you.”

“Yes sir!”

* * *

 

“Look this way! Lift your left arm just a bit. Perfect, stay there please.” Flash went off as Keith did his best not to flinch at the bright lights. When he was in his Galra form, his senses were much more sensitive than when he was in his human. They were muted while still being stronger than humans but nothing beat being full Galra. He wished his hair wasn’t white because it seemed to absorb all the lights and made them keep light in his eyes longer. Thankfully Red was known for wearing a lot of hoods, so it blocked most of the lights. “Alright. Let’s take a break!”

Keith let out a breath of relief as he stepped off set and took the water bottle from one of the assistants. He pulled the hood off and pushed his white bangs off his face as he approached a chair where Thace was sitting. His manager offered the chair to him, which he took immediately.

“Tired?” Keith let out a tired groan as his answer. “Well this is the last thing so you can go home and cuddle Snap after this.”

“Can I eat whatever I want?”

“You go and train if off after anyway, so when has that ever stopped you?” Thace reminded Keith of his usual schedule of going to the gym to demolish anyone who he trained with.

“Oh right. Can we order curry then?”

“Sure. Oh, by the way, I thought you’d be interested in knowing, you’ll be having a new singer on the scene soon.”

Keith looked at Thace confused when he remembered. “You mean the new singer for Altea records?”

Thace nodded, “apparently wrote his debut song himself, just like you did when you didn’t like Kolivan’s song for you.”

“I had a good reason not to.” Keith didn’t want to remember the song Kolivan had for him before Keith begged for the chance to write his own debut song. “So what’s his name?”

“Isamu, Prince of Altea.”

The name sounded familiar to him for some reason, but Keith was curious to find out just what kind of person this new singer was.

“Isamu, Prince of Altea huh? I look forward to seeing him on stage soon.”


	5. To act a Prince's age

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We meet a new set of characters! But like, near the end, don't worry, they'll be coming back

Lance closed the door to the main house, on his way to the kitchen when he was stopped by a stern voice.

“Lance.” The 16 year old teen stiffened at the sound of his name and he turned around to where his grandmother stood behind him, no doubt coming from her office. “What is that?”

Lance looked down at the box of cookies Shiro got for him for his trip. While Kolivan would be spending the day indoors trying to nail down the melody for Lance’s debut song, Lance was heading to the country side with Allura and a magazine crew for a photo shoot and interview so everyone could meet Isamu, Prince of Altea before he finally appeared on stage. Shiro and Lance told his grandmother that he had been invited with a few other quintessence sensitive patients for a small retreat.

“Cookies for the retreat.” Lance was hoping she wouldn’t suddenly change her mind about him going because he didn’t want to leave Pidge here to be him since he already knew she’d have to stay at the house when he went in for recording and the eventual debut.

“You couldn’t make them yourself?”

Lance felt like she was looking down at him for being lazy. It wasn’t like he asked Shiro to get them for him. He _had_ planned on getting Coran to help him make enough cookies or some type of treat for everyone but Shiro beat him to it by ordering the treats for him, saying he didn’t want Lance staying up too late to work on the treats. No doubt keeping an eye out for him after his 3 AM song writing events.

“I was going to but Shiro said he didn’t want me up late.” Lance said trying not to sound so unsure to his grandmother.

“Put those away and go to bed then.” She demanded.

Lance took that as incentive to get out of the hallway and quickly into the kitchen. He loved his grandmother, honestly. She had every right to never accept him with what happened to his parents but she did and she made sure he had the best care with his cancer but there were times he wondered if he was nothing but a burden to her that she couldn’t shake off just yet. He put a post-it onto the box while also trying to remove the thoughts from his head. He did not want to go down that thought stream.

He was back across the grounds and in his own room before he knew it where he found Pidge packing his pin and patch covered bag.

“Getting a head start?” he asked

“How can I not? We haven’t been anywhere out of the city since we got here. How are you not excited?” Pidge asked and she placed Lance’s cat eared headphones and iPod in the bag, where he could spot his favourite jacket, his toiletry bag, umbrella and case for his 4DS.

“Packing the essentials. It’s not that I’m not excited. It’s that I’m nervous. I’ve never been interviewed except for my yearly physical and it’s done by Shiro. Pidge, you can’t fit yourself and Hunk in there you know.” He said as she picked something else to stuff into his bag.

“Oh. Tote bag then? And why are you so nervous?”

“What if I say something that’ll show I’m not actually 19?” Lance said as he pulled his closet open and pulled out his worn but loved tote bag he’d been using more often with the appearance of Pidge and Hunk. It was his biggest bag that he could carry that would fit them both.

“It’s what, a 3 year difference?” Hunk asked from his seat on the floor near Pidge

“That and maturity. It’s so easy to tell if someone is older just by how they act. I don’t have any people to base myself off who’s 19.” Lance said pulling the stuff out and transferring them over.

“Ok, so maybe we have to rehearse a few answers, but honestly you should just be yourself. Should we bring swimsuits?”

“We’re not getting in the water.” Lance said as he looked through his toiletry bag to see if there was anything he needed to take out. Allura told him hair and make up would be provided so he wouldn’t have to worry, but having the essentials was necessary.

“Aww, no fair.”

“Pidge, you hate the outdoors.” Hunk said looking confused, “why are you upset about not being able to go swimming?”

“Because they said the helper robots are anything proof, and I want to test if Rover is too.” the little robot let out a confused beep.

“And if they aren’t?” Lance asked                         

“Well then I get to give Rover here a makeover.” Rover beeps started to sound concerned.

“Pidge, don’t terrorize the robot. I almost got caught getting him for you.” Hunk reminded

While Pidge complained more, Lance tried to stave off his nerves. He was excited that he was getting out of the city and being out in nature but the threat of saying something that could reveal him, that thought was looming longer than he’d like.

* * *

 

The vocal cords of Red sang in his ears as Lance watched the scenery pass by. He was poked on the arm by Allura, who handed him his phone.

“Instagram and Twitter created. They’re not public yet since we don’t have pictures for profile pictures. Did you want to make anything else?”

Lance shook his head. “I don’t understand Snapchat. I really have to control this don’t I?”

“I think if you don’t think of it as a job to deal with, it won’t be so bad. Plus you can have two accounts under the same email, so you can have a private one.” Allura said

“I don’t have any friends to follow me.” Lance said as he looked at his bio. “The Prince has finally arrived?”

“Not a final thing, you can change it later if you want.”         

Looking at the bio on his Twitter made everything seem too real. The fears from the day before were creeping up again and while it was rude, Lance pulled his headphones over his ears again but it seemed even Red’s singing wasn’t helping as much.

Before he knew it, the shuttle had pulled up to the country house they had rented for the day. Lance pulled the headphones around his neck as he looked at the scenery. It was stunning. The wooden house fit in perfectly with the forest around it and Lance could hear the sounds of water over the noise of the crew giving orders.

“What do you think?” Allura asked

“This is amazing. Do you think I can take a look around?”

“Of course. Just don’t head back onto the road but you’re free to explore the area while they set up. You’ll be doing the interview first so you don’t need to worry about your clothes, but please don’t come back a mess.” Allura begged

“I won’t. I’ll be back.” he said, already dashing off.

“Keep your phone on you!” she called as he disappeared onto a path.

Back on the bus, Hunk finally got the latch for the zipped to open, allowing him and Pidge to get out.

“I can’t believe he left us here! I thought I was coming to join before being left in the house for 2 days.” Pidge complained

“We should go after him.” Hunk said but before they could, they heard footsteps coming up the steps of the shuttle. They stiffened as a Unilu crew member walked up the aisle looking for something.

“There it is.” One pair of hands grabbed the strap to a metal case for lights while the other pair held the case steady. Once they were sure he was gone, the two Shinigami let out a sigh of relief.

“That was close. Come on, let’s go find our forgetful charge.”

Said charge was talking a slow walk up the bath, breathing in the clean air. His former foster home took the group camping once but Lance couldn’t enjoy it as much because while the air was cleaner and better for him, the fluctuating temperatures sent him into a cold that cut the trip short. The kids weren’t upset mostly, they did get a bonfire night once, so it wasn’t a total lose, but Lance always felt guilty. They did make a blanket fort in the sun room of the foster home when Lance had finally gotten better but other than that, Lance didn’t go into nature enough. He ran up the path until he reached a lake and stood up on a rock near the edge.

“I don’t think even a cold could get me to leave.” Lance said, gazing at the shinning water. Even though he wasn’t the best swimmer he always loved the water. he hoped he could find the shallow parts later so he could at least put his feet in. taking a deep breath, Lance yelled, “yo-re-hi-o!” and listened as his voice echoed through the whole area, unknowingly notifying a pair of Shinigami of his location. “This is the best! I never thought I’d be able to yell this loud. I wonder if I should get Allura to take a picture of me here?”

As Lance climbed down the rock to go explore more, he didn’t notice Pidge and Hunk floating high above him, watching as he had fun.

“He’s pleased so easily.” Hunk said

“Can you blame him? Probably his first chance of freedom. But as much we want him to have as much as he can get, there is something we can’t give him right?” Pidge said

Hunk looked confused but then he remembered. “Right. Stopping Lance from meeting the person who could change his fate. But he was supposed to meet them the day we met him.”

“But the warning still hasn’t disappeared from his files so obviously our appearance to him changed things a little.” Pidge reminded

“You know, I’m surprised you want to do work when you were so excited about coming here.”

“I have to stay in the house with that woman while you get to go with Lance to the recording and his debut concert. I’m allowed to have a bit of fun.” Pidge snapped back. “Now so we can enjoy ourselves a bit longer before we have to get to work and let’s go find Lance.”

Hunk pouted at the thought of having to work while Lance was having fun but he knew Pidge was right. It was a necessary evil. Fate couldn’t be changed and they had to stop whoever was going to change Lance’s. Even if it meant having to solidify his death.

* * *

 

Lance was quietly walking along when his ponytail was yanked. Not hard, but enough for him to grab his head and turn to see Pidge and Hunk floating above him.

“Thanks for not forgetting us. Don’t run off like that.” Pidge scolded

“What? I’m fine.” Lance said, pulling his hair over his shoulder. “What could happen to me here?”

“Well, it could be revealed that your 16.” Hunk pointed out. “Weren’t you worried about that last night?”

“By what I say, not by how I look.” Lance said, gesturing to his current form. “I don’t think they’ll figure anything out by how I’m acting right now.”

“Lance!” Lance looked over not even noticing his walk had brought him back to the house where Allura stood on the porch of the house. “Come on, we’re going to get started.”

“Coming! Don’t worry. I just have to watch what I say and I’ll be fine.” Lance said before running off towards Allura.

“Should we be slightly worried?” Pidge asked

“I want to say no because I have faith in him, but something tells me if something slips, he’ll go falling with it.” Hunk answered.

They had hoped Hunk was wrong as they joined Lance in their stuffed animal forms as he was directed by Allura into what was the house’s living room. Sitting on one of the couches was an alien. Lance guess he was from Nalquod because of his blue skin, the two red tendrils coming from his forehead and the gills on his neck. He knew of a group of female Nalquods who were in the class next to his at school and he’d seen enough of them as they kept the swim team winning at all times.

“Hello.” He greeted as Lance sat on the opposite couch. “You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be I guess.” Lance said, sitting the Shinigami on his lap as Allura joined him on the couch

“Those are some cute stuffed animals.” The interviewer said

“Thanks. They’re my good luck charms. They were with me at my audition so I don’t like leaving them home when I come out for work.”

“Very cute. Well we should introduce ourselves. I’m Blaytz from the magazine Galaxy Star Monthly. It’s a pleasure to be working with you today.” Blaytz said as he handed over a business card to Lance.

“Galaxy Star Monthly?” Lance said to himself as he looked over the card and tried to contain himself. ‘ _This is the magazine that all my favourite singers are featured!’_

He had been so focused on his thoughts, that he jumped when Allura nudged him in the stomach and nodded to Blaytz. “Oh, um, I’m Isamu, Prince of Altea. It’s a pleasure to be working with you as well.”

“The Prince of Altea huh? A pretty significant meaning, the decision of being a prince?”

Lance nodded, remembering the story that had always given him courage. “There’s a story that’s always given me courage about a prince of Altea who was always looked down upon, even when he was chosen to be a Paladin of Voltron.”

“The Galaxy’s biggest defence system?” Blaytz confirmed

Lance nodded, “he always proved them wrong but he never saw his worth. The quote that meant a lot to me was ‘in the presence of the moon, who pays attention to the stars?’ and replying to that was ‘If someone can’t take the time to appreciate the stars that shine brightly no matter what, then they don’t deserve to gaze upon them.’ those lines have always been a big boost in helping me push forward, especially since I feel so close to the prince’s character.”

“So your choice of the name is a reminder of what you’ve accomplished?”

“So far yes.”

“Well then your highness, I wish you the best of luck.” Blaytz said, nodding his head to Lance. “So you’re a college student correct?”

“Yes. I’m 19 years old. My blood type is AB and my hobby is playing video games. My favourite colour is blue.”

While Allura was wondering what on earth Lance was doing, Pidge felt proud of herself for prepping Lance the night before.

“In my free time I like sitting in my room and daydreaming. I guess you could say I’m someone who takes pride in being independent.”

Blaytz blinked before letting out a laugh. “You’re certainly interesting aren’t you?”

“I’m so glad you think so.” Allura said, happy that Blaytz didn’t think Lance was weird, because he was kind of acting like it. The interview was interrupted when her phone started to ring. When she saw who was calling her, she knew she’d be away for a while. “I have to take this. You’ll be ok by yourself, correct?”

“We’ll be fine, don’t worry.” Lance reassured, watching as Allura got up and left the room, not before giving him a warning look.

“Don’t worry, we’ll still have fun without her. So, your highness, how long have you wanted to be a singer?”

“Pretty much since I was a kid.”

“Wow, that long huh? Was there a reason you decided to do this now?”

Instead of answering immediately like he had been, Lance fell silent. There were many reasons but the main reason, it felt embarrassing to say.

“Is something wrong?” Blaytz asked

“Oh, no. nothing. Um, I just want lots of people to listen to my songs.”

“I see. Is there a certain singer you’re trying to emulate?”

Lance didn’t have an answer for that. Honestly, he never wanted to but he never gave the idea any thought.

“What’s wrong? Don’t have one?”

“Um, I like everyone who sings.” Lance said so he had some sort of answer. He was starting to feel like he was doing a foreign language speaking test.

“Guess that was a pretty insignificant. How about we go with something easier? What’s your favourite food?”

“Coconut curry bread.” Lance answered, already salivating at the thought of the bread they sold at his school’s cafeteria

“Coconut curry bread? Isn’t that bread only sent to high schools? Your college sells it?”

Shit. Lance forgot that certain specialty breads were sent to certain schools. Coconut curry had been more famous amongst the high schools, so they were sent for sale there.

 “Oh, no. um, I recently started college this year, so I still remember the coconut curry bread.” Lance said, hoping it would sound believable.

Blaytz burst into laughter. “Isamu, your just a high school student aren’t you?” he teased, not seeing Lance stiffen. “I wish I could meet more singers could act like you. It would make interviews much more interesting.”

Lance gave him a strained smile, berating himself in his head.

“And there it goes, all crashing down. Why did you tell him to say all that stuff? Wouldn’t it be weird if they published all that?” Hunk said

“Not according to all the fan magazines he has. I’m just getting the stuff out of the way.” Pidge stated.

_‘I knew it! I have to be more careful. I’ve got to act more like a 19 year old or next time it won’t be a joke.’_ Lance thought

* * *

 

Lance felt like going through hair and makeup was a blur, though he did vaguely remember geeking out with his hair stylist about Kingdom Hearts. He fiddled with one of the strands of his hair that was framing his face, trying to do something with his hands as he waited for the stylist to let him go. They were flicking through the rack to try and find that extra something they felt Lance was missing.

“Hmm, maybe a jacket would be too much? What do you think?” they asked him

“Hmm? Oh, sorry.” He apologized, realising he had blanked out

“Nervous?” at Lance’s hesitant nod, because he was nervous, they patted his shoulder, gently pulling his hand away from his hair. “You’ll be fine, don’t worry. Just listen to photographer and you’ll be fine. How about a necklace instead? How do you feel about chockers?”

“I don’t mind them.”

“Excellent. God, I wish I thought to bring more cuff earrings. Altean ears were made for cuff earrings. Though I guess the blue one will have to do for now. Turn around.” They ordered.

Lance did what they asked and crouched down slightly so they could get the choker around his neck. It was black with a blue gem and also had delicate chains hanging from it, adding lops to the choker. He turned around so the stylist could get a full look at him.

“Perfect. You’re ready.” They announced

Like she had been summoned by that statement, Allura knocked on the door, entering when she was given permission. “Look at you Isamu. You look amazing. You did such a good job Aoi.”

“Thank you. All right, have fun out there.”

Lance nodded, thanking her before following Allura outside and around the back. At the sight of the crew standing around the photographer, Lance took a deep breath. He could do this; he just had to act like he was 19. He’d be fine, he hoped.

“Hello. Isamu, this is the photographer Riku.” Riku was a human, his silver hair pulled back with a beanie and shook Lance’s hand firmly. He reminded Lance of Riku from the Kingdom Heart series except his eyes were purple and his skin tone was much darker than the video game character’s.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Lance said.

“Nice to meet you, your highness, if Blaytz told me correctly?” Riku said

“Yes, Isamu, Prince of Altea.”

“Well then your highness, let’s get started shall we? Why don’t you head to the end of the dock and pose for us?”

While he was nervous about being seen as 19, he was able to get into the swing of the shoot rather well. It had been a bit awkward in the beginning but with Riku’s instructions Lance was able to pose more naturally. For the most part, he was able to keep a smile on his face and not let his worries show but as the shoot went on, instead of going away, the worries kept buzzing more and more in Lance’s head. They had just moved onto a yacht they had rented for more photos when things started moving a bit more south. With all the worries Lance was having, he hadn’t noticed he started becoming more and more stiff as he tried to come off as older.

“Can you walk around a bit?” Riku asked

“Uh, sure.” Lance paced around, not really sure how he was supposed to make it look natural

“No. how about you lift your arms?” Riku suggested

“Um, like this?” Lance hadn’t moved his arms much, them either being by his side or on his waist so he couldn’t feel natural lifting them up.

Obviously Riku didn’t think so either as he let out a huff and ruffled at his hair. “Can you make it look more natural?”

“He’s only an amateur. Be a little more considerate.” Allura said to herself, but Riku must have heard her because he gave her a glance over his shoulder.

“How about you just look out into the water instead? Just pretend you’re gazing at something in the distance?”

“Ok.” Lance did what he said, trying to fit what he thought they wanted but when he heard a frustrated groan, he realised he wasn’t doing a very good job.

“I can’t take pictures like this. Let’s take a break!” Riku ordered.

* * *

 

Allura stepped out of the house, a bottle of water in her hand spotting Riku in the distance.

“Sorry about him.” one of the crew members, a Galran woman, bowed her head in apology. “Riku tends to get a trance to get his cliental to fit his image. He has high standards but is always confident that the cliental can reach them.”

“No, it’s fine. I feel like I should apologize because he’s so new and unexperienced.”

“I think he’s upset he can’t reach Riku’s expectations but honestly I think he might be overthinking things.” The Galaran crew member said as she looked over at the porch swing at the end of porch where a sad looking white haired singer sat.

“I guess I better go talk to him.” Allura said, seeing how upset Lance was from where she was standing.

“Just let him know he shouldn’t worry so much and to take a break. With the clouds rolling in, it’ll be a while until we do anything.”

“Alright, thank you.” Allura walked over to where Lance was sitting on the porch swing and poked his marked cheek with the cold bottle, making him flinch. “Thirsty?”

“I’m sorry.” Allura could tell what he was apologizing for.

“Don’t get so overworked about it. Your new at this, it’s gonna be weird until it feels natural to you.” Allura pointed out, letting Lance take the bottle of water out of her hand. “Why don’t you take advantage of the break and go take a walk, clear your head? Maybe it’ll help you to centre yourself.”

Lance didn’t look like he wanted to but he knew Allura had a point. He didn’t notice Hunk and Pidge hanging over the edge of the roof, looking at him.

“I knew this would happen.” Hunk said

“I didn’t think it’d be this bad, though that photographer was no help. Still though, everyone’s been saying what we’ve been telling him so honestly, now it’s up to him to figure out. Once he figures it out for himself, he’ll be ok.” Pidge said as the two flipped back up to sit on the roof.

“I feel kinda bad.” Hunk said

“He wanted to be able to work on this by himself right? I don’t think it only constituted to the song writing. How about we focus on our job and see if there’s anything that’ll stop his death.”

Hunk blinked as Pidge got Rover to bring up the Shinigami handbook. “You think there’d be something here to stop his death?”

“You never know. We’ve been lucky that past few days with not having anything and besides, if we leave him to take care of his own things, we’d just be sitting here, twiddling our thumbs. Here we go, it says that the keyword is, high school girls? There aren’t any high schools out this far, are there?” Pidge asked, but Hunk just shrugged his shoulders. “Ok. Guess we got to figure that out.”

Meanwhile, Lance had taken Allura’s advice and took a different path than the one before, his mind still on the worries he had. Lance knew this would be an issue he’d have to deal with eventually, the possibility of someone finding out. It never seemed like an issue after he somehow got away with getting Shiro to agree but after that interview, Lance knew he had his work cut out for him.

Feeling tired, he went and sat on a nearby log before looking up to the sky. “Is this even worth it? If I get found out, they could cancel my debut and then…I wouldn’t be able to see Akira again and I don’t even have that much time.” It was then that Lance was reminded of when he auditioned for Altea Records. He had just been told he wouldn’t have a chance and been told earlier than that, he only had a year left to live. He couldn’t even sing that loud because he had been so stuck on everything that was stopping him instead of the advantages he had at the moment until the judge told him he should sing because he loved to sing. Then when Blaytz asked him why he wanted to be a singer. He had been too embarrassed then but Lance knew what his answer was. To see Akira. “This is another thing I have to push through to accomplish my dream. How could of I almost given up so easily because this? I have a chance to do something I thought I’d never get the chance to do and I shouldn’t give in that easily, not when I’ve gotten this far.” Filled with the same feeling he had when he decided to sing anyway at an audition he was sure he’d never win, Lance stood up and took a deep breath before singing

_**tatta hitotsu kawaranai mono**_  
 _ **zutto egaiteta yume**_  
 _ **ima no jibun wa dou utsuru no?**_  
 _ **ano koro no chiisana hitomi ni**_  
  
_**nee miagete**_  
 _ **konna ni hiroi yozora dakara**_  
 _ **sou sugu ni wakaru you ni**_  
 _ **sei-ippai kagayaku kara hayaku**_  
 _ **FURUMU-N wo sagashite**_

  
_**Let's sing a song! itsu demo issho**_  
 _ **kimi no tame ima no watashi ni dekiru subete**_  
 _ **Day by day kyou made no unmei**_  
 _ **ashita kara no kibou kono mune ni kakae**_  
  
_**Let's sing a song! itsu demo issho**_  
 _ **kimi to nara**_  
 _ **tsurai koto norikoerareru yo**_  
 _ **More and more motto motto motto**_  
 _ **chikadzukitai ima koko ni ite kurete**_  
 _ **many thanks to you!**_

When Lance heard a branch break, he let out a small yelp and spun around to see 3 Puigan girls in high school uniforms staring at him in stunned wonder.

“Um, hi?” he said

“Was that you? We heard this amazing singing and thought it was someone playing a song but then we saw you there singing. That was completely acoustic right?” Lance nodded from where he was. “we thought so! You have a really amazing voice.” The Puigan girl with blue markings on her face said, her two friends nodding.

“What are you doing in a place like this? do you believe in the 16 year old hill too?” the Puigan with orange markings asked as they started to climb up the hill towards them.

“16 year old hill?” Lance asked, looking confused and interested all at once.

“It’s a bit of a rumour that if you come up here on your 16th birthday, you can get a boyfriend.”

Lance let a bit of an embarrassed laugh. While it was nowhere near his birthday, the idea that he was 16 and on a hill rumoured to get him a boyfriend, he felt like he had every right to be embarrassed. “that’s some rumour. Is that why you guys are here?”

The blue Puigan pointed to her other friend who had green markings whose mint green hair made him think of Pidge’s ears. “it’s Toph’s birthday.”

“Toph, like…?”

“My parents were big fans of The Last Airbender. Besides, she’s kickass.” Toph defended

Lance held his hands up in a placating manner. “don’t worry, I agree with you. Though I’m married to Aang’s other teachers, mostly because I’m sure Toph would end me if she had the chance.”

“Well Zuko and Katara are pretty good looking, so we’ll give you that. So if you’re not here for the 16 year old hill, what are you doing here?” the orange marked Puigan asked

“Oh, work. Actually, I need to check they don’t need me back.” Lance remembered as he pulled his phone out from where he stuffed it in his back pocket before he left.

“Oh, wow! That cell’s new isn’t it?” Toph asked, looking at the blue almost holographic screen that Lance was holding

“Uhh, yeah? I recently got it. I’ve only really downloaded music on here. Literally, I only just made a Twitter and Instagram account today.”

“You’ve lived without those accounts until today? Do you even get LINE messages?” one of the girls asked, utterly stunned about Lance had admitted to them.

“What’s LINE?” Lance asked, genuinely confused. The looks he got in return made him feel like an idiot but it wasn’t his fault he never had a phone before or any friends.

“Gimme your phone.” The blue haired Puigan demanded and then shoved Lance down on the log he had been sitting on before she joined him. “now sit here and pay attention we got a lot to teach you.”

Lance paid attention as they shows him how to work his accounts and new apps they suggested he have. They did geek out a little when they saw Lance had all The Rebels albums on his phone.

“Ok, now look.” Ruby, the Puigan with blue hair said, in her attempts to get Lance into using Snapchat, since he still didn’t fully understand it.

Lance tilted his head as the picture on Ruby’s phone showed the two of them with pastel coloured flower crowns. “don’t they have this sticker on the LINE picture app?”

Ruby sighed, “your impossible to convince aren’t you?”

“It’s ok; I don’t like Snapchat either, no matter how much someone tries to change my mind.” The orange marked Puigan, Sunny, staring Ruby down, who just stuck her tongue out at her.

“Fine, maybe some people will have to live without its awesomeness then.” Ruby said

“I think we’ll be fine with that.” Toph answered, giggling when Ruby turned to glare at her.

“You two are the worst. Oh, I forgot to ask, how old are you?” Ruby asked Lance

“16.” He answered automatically, feeling comfortable with them so much that he didn’t pay attention to what he was saying

“16?! What, I thought you were older!”

“Oh, um, yeah I am. Did I get you?” he quickly played off. “I’m 19 actually.”

“Gez, you really had us going for a while there. You don’t look like your 16 but Sprits knows males shoot up like trees.”

_‘They don’t think I look like I’m 16 and they didn’t say anything about me acting younger than I am. Before I had been so sure I’d be fine because of how I looked but then I got freaked out when I slipped up that I was sure everyone would be able to tell. Pidge and Hunk were right, I should just be myself and stop forcing myself to act like something I’m not.’_

“Hold it right there!” Lance looked up to see Pidge floating down, looking furiously determined. “get away from Lance! Rover, activate wild wind!”

“Wild what? AHH!” Lance got his answer when Rover, the same small pyramid shaped robot started to blast out of high velocity winds that almost threw him and the girls off the log, who were screaming at the sudden winds. “Pidge! What the hell are you doing?!”

“My job!” Pidge yelled back.

“Pidge!” Hunk flew down to where Pidge was extremely focused on the scene in front of her. “what are you doing? Is this another one of your pranks?”

“It’s not a prank. Rover, show him the handbook, but don’t drop those winds.”

Hunk looked at the protected holographic screen and saw the words ‘high school girls’ in the danger section of their handbook. Then he continued reading.

“Pidge, are those glasses for real or are they for show, because I think your blind, come read this.”

Pidge was about to snap at Hunk but Rover had moved the screen so she could see what Hunk had seen. Next to the key word was ‘excluding those with loose socks’. And lo and behold when Pidge looked back she could see fluttering around the ankles of the extra room of the socks.

“Shit! Rover, Rover stop winds now!”

Lance knew one thing when the winds finally stopped, his hair dresser was going to be furious when she saw the state of him. The intricate work was now loose and messy and he was spitting the long strands out of his mouth.

“What the Spirts was that?” Toph complained

“Is it usually like this?” Lance asked, while glaring down Pidge who conveniently hid herself behind Hunk.  

“No. What the hell?” Ruby complained fixing her hat and hair and glanced around for her cell phone. When she picked it and checked to see if it was still working, she let out a gasp. “is it that late already? We should have been heading home already. Sorry to dash off.”

“No it’s fine. Sorry I kept you.”

“You should make sure you message us on LINE.” Sunny said as they all got up. “it was really nice meeting you!”

“You too, get home safely.” Lance called after them as the group headed back down the hill. He watched as they started walking away when he decided to call after them. “Thank you!” if it hadn’t been for them, Lance was sure he’d still be trying to act older than he was and it would of taken much longer to realised he didn’t have to. Lance just needed to be himself. If he acted any different, he wouldn’t be true to himself and it would harder for Akira to find him. “I thought you should know that I’ll be debuting as a singer soon.”

“What, seriously? That’s great, congrats!” Toph yelled from the bottom of the hill

“Let us know when your song is released!” Ruby yelled after.

“We’ll cheer you on!” Sunny yelled waving her hands.

“I will and thank you!” Lance called, waving at them as they waved back and headed home. “wild winds Pidge?” Lance asked when he saw them disappear into the treeline.

“I’m sorry. But hey, the windswept look is a good look for you.” Pidge tried to save, but Lance just glared at her over his shoulder as he started walking back to the house. “I’m sorry ok!”

“While I’m really annoyed with what you did because I have no clue how I’m going to explain this to the stylists, I have to say that I finally understand what you were trying to tell me earlier. I look like I’m 19 so how I act shouldn’t matter. I panicked because I said something that made me look like a kid but that’s who I am, so I just go with it.”

“Exactly. We’re glad to see that you finally see that.” Hunk said

“Yeah, now let’s see if I can play off what the hell happened to my hair.”

“Sorry!” Pidge called again

He was first spotted by his stylist who immediately called him into the house to fix his hair and fix his clothes.

“High winds? On the hill?”                          

Lance let out a noise of agreement since he couldn’t move so his hair could be restyled. “according to the local high school students I met, it’s something that happens on that hill.” He couldn’t believe she actually believed what he said, but he was not about to complain. He then saw Allura come into the room, looking worried. He hadn’t exactly gotten the chance to tell her where he went.

“There you are! I was about to call you when they said you were back already. What happened?”

“High winds apparently, that ruined all my hard work.” The stylist complained

“High winds? From where?”

“The 16 year old hill.” Lance answered, “they say that if you go up there on your 16th birthday you’ll find a boyfriend. That what the local high school girls say though.”

Allura’s worried look disappeared as she started to laugh. “16 year old hill? Well looks like that walk did something. I hope those girls didn’t think you were their new boyfriend.”

“With this face, who wouldn’t want me?” Lance said, flashing Allura a smile, to which she rolled her eyes.

“I’m sure. When you’re done, come outside. We’re about to get started again. Think you’ll be ok now?”

Lance gave her a confident smile. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

And he was. Now that he wasn’t trying to act like something he wasn’t, Lance was able to get into the groove of posing again, feeling much more confident now. He did whatever felt natural and judging from how Riku wasn’t pulling his face from his camera as constantly as last time, he was doing a good job.

“Much better! You are certainly showing us your royal side now aren’t you?” Riku asked as they changed locations.

“I guess I am.” They were on the shore of the river now when Lance remembered what he wanted to do earlier. “oh, Allura. I wanted to take my first Instagram picture here. Riku, is it ok?”

“Sure, go ahead. I wanted the next location to be here, just a bit further down.”

Lance quickly pulled his shoes off and pulled his jeans up so they wouldn’t get soaked and handed his phone to Allura.

“What would you suggest my pose be?” Lance asked Riku as he stepped into the water, relishing at the cold feeling.

“Hmm. How about you look at us over your shoulder?” Riku suggested, looking at the camera view over Allura’s shoulder.

Lance let himself go a bit further in the water and pushing some of his hair out of face, he turned to face Allura, who was snapping away.

“Looks good! The backlight hides most of your face, but if this is your first post on your account, it’ll definitely get people’s attention. Stay in the water for these next shots, I just us want to move down more.” Riku said as Lance came out, reaching for his phone.

Riku was right, the sun in the background light him up but he loved how it looked. He looked like an ethereal mystery.

“Looking good your highness.” Allura teased as Lance handed the phone back.

“Always.”

* * *

 

Lance looked at his phone’s GPS to make sure he was in the right area. It was hard to believe that only a day ago, he had his first magazine interview and photo shoot. Now he had to go and record his debut song and then almost days later, he’d be singing it in front of a crowd. Live. Lance was trying not to be nervous.

“You’re quiet.” Hunk said from his place in Lance’s arms.

“I’m getting nervous. Everything’s happening so quickly. I know Kolivan warned me but I think it’s finally hit me.”

“I don’t want to see how you’ll be when the day of your debut comes.” Hunk said

“Don’t remind me please. Oh, we’re here.” Lance pointed out as he saw a large group of girls standing at the side of a gated building as a van approached and the gate was slid open.

“How can you tell?” Hunk asked

“Screaming fans. I passed by a few record label buildings and recording studios and see crowds like this.” Lance explained as he watched the crowd move in front of the gate after the van pulled into the building’s parking lot. Lance stood at the edge of the crowd and stood on the tips of his toes to see who was coming out of the van and let out a little scream with the rest of the crowd when they all saw the van’s occupants. “it’s The Rebels!”

“Who?”

“They’re one of the bands I like. A lot of their songs have been said to be one that people would think would have been sung by girl only groups. They’ve never cared and have shown that gender doesn’t matter when singing. Plus their only female member Nyma, I had the biggest crush on her when they debuted. God, I always wanted the chance to meet them.”

“Lance, aren’t you forgetting you can?” Hunk reminded

“Huh? Oh right, duh. Come on, let’s find a place for me to hide and you can change me.” Lance disappeared behind a nearby moving truck and when he stepped out again he was no longer 16 year old Lance, he was now 19 year old Isamu. Lance noticed he caught people’s attention as he went around the crowd and to the gate

“Name?” the security guard asked.

“Isamu.”

The security guard checked his tablet, and tapped the name on the list. “Hold still please.” He held up the tablet’s camera to focus on Lance’s face so he could pass facial recognition and when a green circle flashed over the picture, he waved Lance through.

He hadn’t noticed that his appearance also caught The Rebels attention.

“Hey.” Lance looked up and had to remind himself to breath as he noticed Nyma standing in front of him, her purple eyes flashing brightly. Maybe he wasn’t over that crush like he thought. “you’re the new singer right? I’m Nyma.”

“I know. Um, I’m a big fan of you guys. You’re really pretty.” Lance blinked. Wow, that happened way quicker than he thought.

“Aww, you’re so cute. Thank you.”

“I don’t usually spout out those things so quickly, sorry. I’m Isamu, Prince of Altea.”

“Prince huh? Well thank you for letting me stand in your presence. Come on, let’s go inside.” Locking her arm around his, Lance let himself be pulled inside where the other two band members were waiting. “Isamu, this is Rolo, my boyfriend as I’m sure you know.” Lance did. He had a crush on him too in the beginning but that disappeared quicker than the one on Nyma did. “and this is Matt.”

While Nyma and Rolo were aliens, Matt was a human and he looked like, “Pidge?”

“What did you say?”

“P-pleasure to meet you! It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He looked like Pidge. Their hair colour and style was the same and their tawny eyes looked identical. But Lance knew that Pidge couldn’t be in anyway related to Matt. There was no mention of siblings that Matt had.

“Nice to meet you too.” Matt looked like he wanted to ask something else but shook his head. “welcome to the label. Here to record your debut song?”

“Yes, I am. I’m supposed to meet Allura.”

“Oh, there she is.” Nyma pointed out as the white haired woman came towards them.

“There you are. I see you’re making friends.”

“And flirting while he’s at it.” Nyma teased, making Lance red.

“He’s royalty, feel proud. Unfortunately, I’m here to escort his highness to the recording studio. But if you’re free, come visit.” Allura suggested, letting Lance grab her hand as she led him away.

“Nice meeting you.” Lance called over his shoulder

“You too.” Nyma called back. “he’s cute.”

“Do I have competition?” Rolo asked, throwing an arm around Nyma’s shoulder, which she latched onto.

“No, but he seems really nice. I heard he actually beat Ezor out. Like he went before her, and stole her spot. Do you think he even knows?”

“If he does, he certainly doesn’t show it. Which is good, because at least he doesn’t take the persona of a prince who’s completely self-absorbed.” Rolo pointed out. He then noticed Matt was pretty quiet. “Matt, you alright?”

“Yeah, it’s just…I thought he called me Pidge. But I guess I was hearing things. Hey, where’s Beezer?”

The group looked around before Nyma yelled, “shit! I forgot to pull the backseat down!” she ran back outside, waving at the screaming fans and opened the back seat doors on van they drove over in to be greeted by annoyed beeping. “Sorry Beezer.” Nyma pulled the lock and folded the seat forward so a midsized white round corner box shaped robot with a round face and cat like ears, that The Rebels were known for, could finally exit. Nyma listened to the robot beep angrily at her as she fixed the seat and closed the door. “ok, ok, I’m sorry. You don’t have to yell at me.” Beezer let out what was their version of an annoyed huff before wheeling off to the building.

They met back up with Rolo and Matt, who go their own version of yelling from Beezer when Matt said, in attempts to get away from the yelling, “hey, do you think Isamu started recording yet? I wanna hear him sing.”

“Let’s go check.” Rolo said, eager to get away from Beezer.

They were able to quickly find the recording room that was Isamu’s for the evening and opened the door to sneak their way onto the couch. They knew they were caught when Kolivan, who was inside the recording booth with Isamu looked up and rolled his eyes at the group but they didn’t leave. Nyma picked up the yellow lion plush she had realised Isamu had been holding from its place on the couch and set on her lap so they could all fit. They watched the Altean singer fix the headphones on his ears before nodding to the sound engineer sitting at the sound board.

“Ready Isamu?” at the singer’s nod, they started the music

**_Doushite doushite suki nan darou_**  
 ** _Konna ni namida afureteru_**  
  
**_Ano koro ha ushinau_**  
 ** _mono ga oosukite_**  
 ** _nani mo utaenakatta_**  
 ** _Sukoshi hanareta basho_**  
 ** _soko ga watashi no_**  
 ** _ibasho datta_**  
  
**_Kimi no hitomi no oku ni ano hi_**  
 ** _samishisa wo mitsuketa_**  
 ** _Futari niteru no kana?_**  
 ** _Kitsukeba itsu mo tonari ni ite kureta_**

“Wow. I can see how he stole Ezor’s spot.” Rolo said

“He’s amazing. Hey, Red would be his competition right?” Nyma asked

“If we’re only looking at artist from Empire Records, most likely. He’s a singles artist like Isamu is and just hear him, there’s a good chance they’d be put up against each other.” Matt said

“Well, I hope he’s ready, because he’s got some big competition.” Nyma said

* * *

 

Keith looked at the white haired Altean that was on the front cover of the magazine he held.

_Your prince has arrived! The newest artist from Altea Records is here to grace you with his amazing voice and presence._

Keith flipped to the interview glancing over the basic questions when one of them caught his eye.

_B-Was there a reason you choose Isamu, Prince of Altea?_

_I-Yes. there’s a story that’s always given me courage about a prince of Altea who was always looked down upon, even when he was chosen to be a Paladin of Voltron._

_B-The Galaxy’s biggest defence system?_

_I-He always proved them wrong but he never saw his worth. The quote that meant a lot to me was ‘in the presence of the moon, who pays attention to the stars?’ and replying to that was ‘If someone can’t take the time to appreciate the stars that shine brightly no matter what, then they don’t deserve to gaze upon them.’ those lines have always been a big boost in helping me push forward, especially since I feel so close to the prince’s character._

_B-So your choice of the name is a reminder of what you’ve accomplished?_

_I-So far yes._

Keith knew exactly what story that was. It was one of his dad’s favourites. He was surprised that someone had also known about the series. He looked at the bright blue eyes framed by the white locks that had been pulled into a complicated twist and the genuine smile on his face. Now he had a face to the name, but now he really wanted to meet him. He picked up his cell phone and quickly called someone.

“Thace, it’s me….yeah, I’m reading it now. It says his debut performance is on Friday at 3. Do you think there’s any chance you can get us tickets? I want to see him perform with my own eyes….why? I guess, there’s something about him. I want the chance to meet him.”


	6. The Prince's Performance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear they'll meet each other eventually  
> Edit: Forgot to link the song that Lance sings, though if you're a Full Moon fan, you already knew it. [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SOxf4gJcOE)

Pidge was so focused on the 4DS screen, she almost didn’t hear footsteps approaching into Lance’s room. With a quick scan from Rover, Pidge switched the 4DS for a book just in time for Lance’s grandmother to slide the door to his room open.

“Lance.”

Fake-Lance pushed himself up and sat formerly. “Hello grandmother. How was your meeting?”

“It went well. The neighbour brought over some orange cookies so I brought some over for you.”

Fake-Lance accepted the plate of orange smelling cookies that were shaped like flowers. “Thank you. Um, is it ok if I can come into the main house? Maybe to watch TV?”

“Heavens no. you are still in trouble from when you got Dr. Shirogane to take you out and then got sick on him. You’ll stay here.”

Pidge tightened her grip on the plate in her hands. “Yes ma’am.” With that Lance’s grandmother left and Pidge took no time flipping off the memory of Lance’s grandmother standing in front of her. “Ugg, like Lance meant to get sick. God, I don’t know how Lance has dealt with this woman for so long.” Pidge complained as she took a bite out of one of the cookies. “They should be at Shibuya by now. I hope everything goes well. I wish I could see Lance perform.”

* * *

 

“And we’ve got a new song for you. This is the debut song for Altea Records new artist, Isamu, Prince of Altea. He apparently beat out all the competition in one fell swoop so when his debut single was officially released yesterday, it’s no surprise people have been eager to gain an audience with this prince. So please enjoy, Isamu, Prince of Altea’s debut single, _Myself-”_

_ “Next station, Shibuya Station. Doors open on the left. Next station, Shibuya Station.” _

Lance pulled off his cat eared headphones and unplugged it from his phone, closing the radio app as he stood up near the door to get off. It was finally here, debut day. Lance meant to listen to his song being dropped on the radio but he had been dragged by his grandmother to attend a tea ceremony class, which he didn’t enjoy. He was sure it was one of the few things his grandmother was doing to help them bond but Lance was not having it. Now he’d have to sing his song in front of people, which was a little nerve racking but before he could get to that, he needed to find where the performance was happening.

“Do you know where you’re going?” Hunk asked from his place in Lance’s tote bag

“Not really. Allura didn’t really tell me where to go, she just said, you’ll know when you reach the centre. What the hell does that mean?”

“Check and see if GPS says anything.” Hunk said

Lance opened his GPS and typed in Shibuya centre into the search bar and was presented with Shibuya Centre Street. He followed the directions and once he entered the area, he was quickly distracted with the many shops and sights.

“Weren’t you just in Harajuku not that long ago?”

“This is different. Hunk, you’ve got to understand, living with my grandmother, I don’t get the chance to do stuff like this. I missed the chance to go into the mountains when my cancer got worse with flair. I’m taking every advantage of this.” then Lance noticed everyone around them was looking up so Lance did the same. On the billboard of a music store was a picture of Lance. Well, actually, it was the album cover for his single release _Myself._ The day before it was released they realised they never got a picture done. So with a quick call and some improvising from the Altea Records main hair and makeup stylists, they had a picture of Lance against one of the pillars of the Record Company’s building, his white hair out as he looked to the side. In editing they had added a circlet and the once obvious building background now looked like it was the balcony in an Altean castle, with the night sky in the background. It also was advertising the performance for that day.

“Who is that?” Lance recognised the girl who spoke’s uniform as one of higher ranked high schools.

“It’s that guy, you know, the one who won the Altea Audition with one fell swoop. I heard they cancelled the third round after hearing him sing.”

“I’ve heard his song, it’s amazing. God, just look at him. He’s so hot.”

“Hear that? They think you’re hot.” Hunk teased

Lance continued to stare up at the billboard. “It, kinda doesn’t look like me.”

“Well there’s a difference between reality and just an image. It’s kinda like the idea of not judging a book by its cover what they see and what you are will be different. But hey, it’s also kinda like that quote you like. The one about if they can’t see the real you?”

Lance smiled a bit. “Yeah, I guess it is. We should head in.” Lance walked into the music store, his eyes widening at the sight of the line for the performance, if the workers advertising it and pointing to the line was any indication. “Is that the line for the performance?”

“Looks like it. There sure are a lot of people.” Hunk said when he noticed the hand holding the strap of the tote bag was shaking. “Lance, are you nervous?”

“How can I not be? Hunk, I’ve never performed in front of anyone. What if I forget the words? What if I get up there and nothing comes out?”

“Make it up as you go along.” Hunk suggested, knowing the reaction he’d get.

“I can’t do that! I worked really hard to write those lyrics! Pidge is at home for me taking punishment for when I got sick during that whole set of events.”

“Exactly. They mean too much so you won’t mess up. Trust me, once you get up there, all those fears will disappear. Now come on, we’re going to be late and we need a place to change you. Did Allura say if you had to meet her in a specific place?”

“Uhh, she did say to meet her on the 7th floor of wherever.”

Hunk nodded to a Staff elevator. “I think that should work then.”

Making sure no one saw him, Lance quickly got to the Staff elevator and once he was inside, hit the button for the 7th floor.

“Ready?” At Lance’s nod, Hunk snapped his fingers and Lance felt that familiar feeling take him over as he body changed from a 16 year old human to a 19 year old Altean. Lance tugged the baseball hat that was part of his new clothes in attempts to keep his identity hidden just a bit longer.

The doors opened and Lance walked off when he was stopped by someone he recognised to be wearing the uniform of the workers.

“You’re Isamu, Prince of Altea right?” the girl asked. She was also Altean and the way she said Lance’s stage name sounded like she was asking it sarcastically.

“Um, yes?”

She let out a scoff as she looked at him up and down. Lance felt like he back at the auditions, talking to the girl whose spot he stole. “You don’t remember me do you?”

“Um, should I?”

“The auditions?”

Lance knew what she was talking about. The auditions for Altea Records. He thought back to all the people he had seen in the waiting room but he had been so nervous that he barely remembered anyone in that room. Also, he had been pretty sure he was the only Altean in the room.

“Um, I was sure I was the only Altean in the room, but no I’m sorry. I don’t remember you.” He said, bowing in apology.

The girl scoffed again. “I was supposed to go after you. It’s because of you, I never got to audition. If I had gone before you, I know they would have chosen me, not you and your sub-par looks and poorly sung song. I can’t wait for your performance. Miracles can be worked on a CD but live, everyone will see you for what you really are. A fake prince with no talent.” She stormed past him, making sure to hit his shoulder with hers, leaving Lance standing there in stunned silence.

Poorly sung song and sub-par looks. That was the second time someone had said that to him. That his song was poorly sung. Hunk himself even said his singing wouldn’t be that good at singing with his reasons for singing. The fears from before started to mix with new thoughts. What if he wasn’t good enough?

* * *

“Maybe teasing him to find the place himself wasn’t the best idea.” Allura said out loud, pacing in the room they had set up for Lance to get ready

“I told you you should have just told him where to go.” Kolivan said, texting someone on one of his many phones.

“I wanted him to see his album cover on the billboard.” Allura defended. “I didn’t think it’d take this long. I’m going to call him and go and get him myself.” Allura picked up her cell phone when someone knocked on the door. “Come in.” She called as she opened her contact list

“I found a lost singer that I think belongs to you.” Their sound engineer said opening to door and walking to reveal Lance following him.

“There you are. I was wondering where you disappeared to. I thought you didn’t find the place.”

“Kinda hard to miss with the gigantic poster out front. Sorry for being late by the way.” Lance said

“It’s fine, don’t worry. It’s was Kolivan’s idea to have it look like that, did you like it?”

“Yeah.” Both Kolivan and Allura looked at each other when they heard the very blank monotone voice Lance answered in.

“Are you nervous?” Allura asked

“Not really.” Nerves were the last thing on his mind.

“You know, I’ve been through this before, back when I was an idol myself. Granted my first debut live performance was at the pool side at an amusement park, but I got on stage for rehearsal and was frozen stiff. When the other idols saw me, they told me to do this.” Allura took Lance’s hand and started writing on it with her finger as she said, “When you’re nervous, use your finger and write _hitto_ or hit in katakana.”

The two Alteans were interrupted by a sudden burst of laughter and turned to see Kolivan hiding his mouth with the back of his hand.

“That’s wrong Allura.”

“I’m sorry, who was the idol here? Last I checked you went straight into producing.” Allura said snootily

“It’s not that, it’s the word. You’ve got it wrong. It’s _hito,_ as in person, not _hitto._ ”

“What? That’s why I didn’t make it that long? Those little, ahh! I was cheated out of my career!” Allura yelled

“Don’t think that why you didn’t last long.” Kolivan said. Hunk thought he was pretty brave for saying that after what he had said to Allura when she was trying to get him to still allow Lance to write his own song.

“Allura?” Lance asked, getting her to stop screaming. “Was I chosen because of my looks at the audition?”

“Who told you that?” Allura asked looking serious.

“Um, well…” Lance wasn’t sure why it bothered him so much. Pidge had said he sung fine, but then Hunk had said those things. Hunk said he didn’t mean it but after what the Altean girl had said to him, he was starting to think differently. He was interrupted by his thoughts when Allura let out a piercing whistle.

“I think I need to get my ears checked. Mind repeating that?”

Lance let out a huff, seeing how Allura was trying to play this off. “It doesn’t matter how well I sing does it? I know at the audition that you guys had someone picked already but for some reason you guys changed your mind.”

“Lance, of course it matters how well you sing. I don’t know who told this, but you won that audition yourself, no matter what had been said before and today-”

“Excuse me.” that make-up artist and costume designer stood up, “we’re sorry to interrupt but we should start getting ready. It’s almost time.”

“That’s right. Look, just focus on the performance today ok?”

“Right.” Lance said, though he didn’t look so confident.

“Alright, we’ll leave this in your hands. Allura and I will head down to make sure everything’s ok.” Kolivan said, getting out of his seat and heading to the door.

“I’ll be right back ok? They’ll take great care of you.” Allura said, rubbing at Lance’s arms in attempts to keep him calm.

“Ok.” he watched as his manager and producer left the room and set his bag down while the hair and makeup artist sat him down in a chair so she could start working on his hair. Hunk decided to go and check in with Pidge, wondering if he should really leave Lance but decided he’d be fine.

While Hunk left and Lance was left alone, listening to the stylists talk about how crazy the line was and how they had to make sure Lance looked his best. While they spoke about that, all Lance could think of was whether or not he could sing.

* * *

 

_“How dare she!”_ Pidge yelled from over the phone. Hunk could tell she was getting even more upset that she couldn’t be there. _“I can’t believe she said that! Did he actually believe her?”_

“I don’t know. Maybe he didn’t full believe us when he asked us about it after the audition. I guess what I said didn’t help.”

_“Hunk, you got upset and said things you didn’t really mean and you apologized. Lance forgave you.”_ Pidge reminded him.

“I know, it’s just…he seemed really shaken up.” Hunk said noticing someone coming up the hallway. He wasn’t too worried since he knew they wouldn’t be able to see him but when Hunk caught a glimpse of him, he stopped. The guy was wearing a black face mask and hair black hair was mostly covered by a black beanie. Hunk was sure there was some sort of mark on the guy’s face poking out from under the face mask. There was something about him that seemed so familiar. He watched as the guy stopped when his phone rang and watched as he put the phone on speaker, sure he was alone.

“Yeah?”

_“Keith, Kolivan’s downstairs and the prince’s manager is telling me you shouldn’t meet him.”_

Hunk’s eyes widened as he watched the guy pull his face mask away from his mouth, revealing the purple mark on his cheek. Hunk knew that mark. He had seen it on album covers, but there was no way…

“Isn’t Allura his manager? I thought at least she’d be willing to let me meet him.”

_“And why do you know I’m Isamu’s manager?”_ Allura’s voice came from the guy’s phone _“Red, is Empire Records stalking my talent?”_

“It’s like you forget the insanity I’m signed too. You know I’m not going to do anything to him.”

_“I know, I trust you. And because I trust you, trust me when I say that you going to meet Isamu isn’t a good idea. He’s a huge fan of yours and is feeling really nervous and if he sees Red, Assassin of Music-”_

“Still a stupid name, assassin of music. Just because I’m a member of the Blade…”

_“As you’ve complained about before. Look, trust me when I say any other time, Isamu would have loved to meet you but not the best time right now.”_

Red, as in the Red Lance loved listening to, sighed, “Alright. I’ll head back down.”

Hunk watched Red hang up and pull his face mask back up before turning back the way he came and disappearing before he blurted out, “oh my fucking shit!”

_“Hunk, you ok? You just cursed more than once in a sentence. You usually do that if something happened.”_ Pidge asked concerned

“Red, as is the singer Lance is obsessed with? He was just here and was on his way to meet Lance. And Allura approved!” Hunk gushed

_“Wait, seriously?”_

“I didn’t recognise him at first, but Lance mentioned he was half Galra so he looked human to me, minus that mark on his cheek. That’s what seemed so familiar. Oh my god, Allura told him not to come up because of how Lance was feeling. Oh god, I really hope he can meet him after. Can you imagine how Lance would react?”

_“Probably how you’re acting but 10 times more spazy.”_  Pidge said, wishing she could be there to see Hunk losing his mind

“Can you blame me? He’s almost all Lance listens to.”

_“All the more reason to stop talking to me and to go check on him. Keep him calm and remind him of what we heard at that audition and just how much this means to him. If he’s calm enough you can let him know and make sure you record him spazing out for me. God, I wish I could be there to see it.”_

“Right, I will.” now all he had to do was wait for Lance to be finished changing. Hunk was buzzing with the information he knew now. Keep Lance calm and not thinking about what the girl had said. Hunk really hoped he could do that.

* * *

 

Kolivan opened the door to what had been turned into Lance’s changing room, looking for the white haired Altean, confused when he didn’t see him.

“Where is he?” he asked the two stylists.

“Bathroom.” The makeup artist said. “Hey Kolivan, come try this. My brother went to Okinawa and got the chips made with their national fruit, it’s pretty good.”

“Sure, looks good.”

Hunk had been behind Kolivan hoping to see Lance but hearing that he wasn’t in the room made him worry again. He looked in the bathroom and when he didn’t see Lance, he knew it would take some looking. He was lucky when he checked the roof to see Lance leaning on the railing, his white hair out, some of it pulled back with delicate gold chains. He flew closer to get a better look at Lance in his costume. The gold chains seemed to be connected with the gold circlet around his forehead, his ears almost filled with cuff earrings and blue dangling ones, like the stylist thought the same thing about Altean ears. His clothes were simple yet elegant, white pants tucked into boots and a blue sleeveless tunic with an attached cape that shimmered blue. His thumbs were looped through blue tulled arm warmers that were edged in gold and showed off the other Altean markings that were on Lance’s arms. Hunk didn’t even realise when he changed Lance’s body into an Altean’s he had also given him the body markings.

“There you are.” Hunk said, seeing how Lance’s hands were tightly clutching his arms. This was worse than he thought.

“Yeah. I needed some time by myself.” Lance didn’t notice Hunk floating close behind him until he felt the large hands ruffling up his hair. “AH! Hunk, stop!” Lance pushed Hunk’s hands away, holding his own hands up to protect his hair. “What are you doing?”

“Improving it.” Hunk said

“Improving? Oh, very funny.” Lance fumed as he pulled his phone from where he had tucked it into his boot and pulled up the front facing camera as a mirror. “My hair. They just finished making me look good. What the hell Hunk?”

“Wow, a singer who only cares about his looks. How the mighty have fallen.” Hunk knew he was acting like an ass, but he just needed to get Lance to react in a way to finally snap him out of it. He hoped he wouldn’t have to keep doing this; he didn’t like being the bad guy. Especially since Lance decided to give him a swift kick to the shin in retaliation.

“You are an ass.” Lance said, before stomping off, leaving Hunk to clutch his throbbing shin.

“Are you running away? You should sing like you’re supposed to.”

“I’m going to sing, because it’s my job.” Lance snapped back.

Hunk’s pain disappeared when he heard Lance say that. Hunk knew Lance didn’t think of singing like a job but he knew that what that girl said was obviously still running in Lance’s mind. He flew in front of Lance, stopping him from going any farther.

“‘It’s my job’? So you’re going to just smile and do your best because it’s your job?”

“I didn’t say that!” Lance yelled

“If you go with the intention of it just being your job, you’ll never be able to send your feelings properly. All that hard work in writing those lyrics will go down the drain and Akira won’t find you because he won’t hear the message you’re trying to send. You need to enjoy singing from your heart first.”

“I do!” Lance yelled and Hunk could tell he was getting through to him. “I do, it’s just right now….this is the second time someone’s told me that my singing was bad and even though you and Pidge said differently, I just keep thinking, what if I wasn’t good enough? What if she’s right and everyone wants to see a fake prince fail extremely?”

Hunk let his wings gently place him on his feet and he took a deep breath, knowing what he was about to say would get him hit again.

“Listen, back when you auditioned, Pidge and I were really focused on getting you back to the house and not passing the auditions, so we kinda kidnapped one of the judges and I pretended to be him.”

Hunk was looking out over to the view so he wouldn’t have to look at Lance’s face, though he could feel the blue eyes staring at him.

“That judge, who told me to – that was you?! What the hell Hunk! You were supposed to be giving me a fair chance!”

“Ok, ok, before you get too mad at me, listen. Yes I planned on failing you but then I heard you sing. Lance, I’ve never heard anything like it. Your voice is amazing. It doesn’t sound like a voice, it was like a sound with this aura that just enraptured you. Pidge and I agreed that if your life was normal and you weren’t going to die in a year, that you’d be touching so many people with your voice. When I realised that such a singer had existed, I was happy because I hadn’t heard such a thing since I was alive.”

“Alive? What do you mean alive? You were human?”

“Of course I was human. What, did you think Shinigamis were just willed into being?”

Lance shrugged, his anger disappearing. “I don’t know. I mean, there’s an anime about Shinigami that makes it seem like they’re spirits who rose into power.”

“If they’re spirits that committed suicide, then yes. Look, point is, I got upset when you said you were doing it for Akira because I thought you were just using your talent for something frivolous but I know that’s not it. Those girls, think about it. You took the chance they wanted so they lashed out in anger. You should also know that Kolivan wasn’t originally going to choose your lyrics because he thought you were just an amateur but then he read them and saw differently.”

“Really?” Lance asked, like he couldn’t believe it. When Hunk nodded, Lance finally gained a smile on his face. “Back at the audition, I was so sure I wouldn’t get chosen because of what I knew but I knew that I’d be faced with such things in my path to becoming a singer so I decided not to care and to just go for it.  I rarely ever been able to sing with such a loud voice in such a long time so I felt so happy being able to do it again. I had been bursting with the urge to sing on the top of my lungs, and thanks to you, I got that chance. I know it’s something that’s so normal to everyone else but to me who got the worst hand in the world to have cancer on the one place that I need to sing, being able to sing that loud was the best feeling in the world.”

“Do you finally get what I’ve been trying to tell you?” Hunk asked

Lance nodded. “I need to sing with confidence or else all anyone will hear is the doubt I have in myself. I keep saying that those quotes mean the world to me, yet I’ve been forgetting them and what they mean. The prince had to show everyone just how wrong about him that they were and I have to do the same thing. While I shouldn’t care what those girls think like how I never care what my classmates think, I know it’ll be hard not to think about what they think. But just like the prince, I have to show them I’m worthy of being the brightest star in the sky.”

“See, you’re going to be just fine.”

“Thanks Hunk. Sorry for kicking you.” Lance apologized, though Hunk waved it off.

“I deserve it. I just feel bad that I’ve had to be the bad guy a bit.”

“I think I deserve it. I should get going though, but um, think you can fix my hair? I don’t want another issue with my hair stylist again.”

“Right, sorry about that.” With a snap of his fingers, Lance’s once messy hair was fixed back into its original neatness. “Alright, ready your highness?”

“As I’ll ever be.” Lance headed back downstairs and went back to his changing room where when he opened the door, he was greeted with a wave of paper thrown at him. “Ahh! What the hell?”

“Language Lance.” Allura said holding up a box and looking proud of herself.

“You’re lucky I didn’t say something else. What the hell Allura, what is all this?”

“These are pre-order cards that were sent in to this store for your single and those,” Lance felt a waterfall of another set of paper thrown on him from behind. He turned to see Kolivan looking rather mischievous, which Lance was not used to, “are request cards sent into radio stations.”

“Wait, requests for my song? But it got dropped on the radio like yesterday.”

“I know. Read some them.” Allura said

Lance picked up a few of the cards that were on the floor and read them out loud. “‘This is my pre-order request for _Myself_ by Isamu, Prince of Altea. I heard it on the radio yesterday and I fell in love after one listen.’ ‘This song is the best.’ ‘Request for _Myself_ by Prince of Altea, Isamu please. It only came on the station twice and that wasn’t enough times.’ ‘The singer’s voice is very calming to listen to. I wonder the type of person the young man singing it is like.’ All these are for my song?”

“Yes and this is just from listening to you on the radio before anyone saw your album cover since that was released today and information about pre-order was released when your song dropped. See Lance, you weren’t chosen because of your looks. Yes we had a different person in mind during the auditions but once they heard you sing, that went completely out the window.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Lance said, feeling even more confident now

“Right, now while the two of you pick up the mess you made, Isamu, get over here so I can fix the hair they messed up.” His hair stylist demanded. Lance was just glad she hadn’t seen the mess Hunk created.

Before he knew it, Lance was downstairs, waiting in the wings of the stage, taking a few deep breaths. It was time. As he kneeled on the glow-in-the-dark X that marked the middle of the dark stage, he reminded himself that it’d be hard like this sometimes, but he knew that he had to keep moving forward to prove to everyone that he was the prince they were expecting.

**_Doushite doushite suki nan darou  
Konna ni namida afureteru_ **

The lights came up to reveal Lance on stage, on his knees like he was talking to everyone in the audience. He had everyone’s attention with his first words and the person pay attention the most. A half Galra singer who was hiding in the back of the room, unable to take his eyes off the white haired singer who voice live was just as amazing on the radio  
  
**_Ano koro ha ushinau_**  
**_mono ga oosukite_**  
**_nani mo utaenakatta_**  
**_Sukoshi hanareta basho_**  
**_soko ga watashi no_**  
**_ibasho datta_**  
  
**_Kimi no hitomi no oku ni ano hi_**  
**_samishisa wo mitsuketa_**  
**_Futari niteru no kana?_**  
**_Kitsukeba itsu mo tonari ni ite kureta_**

By this time, Lance was up on his feet and with a snap of Hunk’s fingers, a pair of angel wings with feathers of blue and white and almost sparkling silver appeared on Lance’s back. Lance sent a small smile to the Shinigami who was floating above listening to Lance, unaware that another set of eyes were keenly focused on him, taking in the voice she had brushed off as a fluke before.  
  
**_Doushite konna ni suki nan darou_**  
**_Kimi no koe kanshii hodo hibiiteru yo_**  
**_Ima made nani ga sasae datta ka_**  
**_Tooku hanarete wakatta yo_**  
  
**_Nakinagara sagashi tsuduketa_**  
**_maigo no kodomo no you ni_**  
**_Kedo soko ni ha eien nante aru wake nakute_**  
  
**_dare mo shinjinakereba iin da yo_**  
**_tsubuyaita ne_**  
**_Futari niteru no kana?_**  
**_Ano toki kimi wo mamoru to kimeta no ni_**  
  
**_Doushite konna ni suki nandarou_**  
**_Toosugite chikasugite todokanai yo_**  
**_wasureyoutte omoeba omou hodo_**  
**_Kimi ga ookiku natteku yo_**  
  
**_Doushite konna ni suki nan darou_**  
**_Kimi no koe kanshii hodo hibiiteru yo_**  
**_Ima made nani ga sasae datta ka_**  
**_Tooku hanarete wakatta yo_**  
  
**_Doushite konna ni suki nan darou_**  
**_Kantan sugite kotae ni naranai_**

As Lance sang his last note, Allura couldn’t help but say, “Kolivan, that’s an amazing trick you put together,” unaware that Kolivan was under the impression she was the one who put the wings on Lance.

Keith watched as Lance turned his back to the audience and his wings broke off in a wave of feathers that showered the first few rows of the audience. He had been impressed when he first heard the song on the radio, but the live version was so much better. He had told Ezor that the singer who stole her spot was no doubt better than her and he was glad to see he was right. It made him want to meet him more, to get to know the breath-taking singer.

“You’re speechless. Don’t think I’ve seen you like that in a while.” Thace said, looking down at his talent and godson.

“Yeah, well I've never seen anything like that in a long while. Lotor can try ruining him as much as he wants, I’m not going to help him try and take down this singer. Not when he can touch so many people.” Keith said, watching Isamu bow to his audience and thank them for coming

“Well, get ready to start defending him because guess who just called you in.” Thace said, holding up his phone so Keith could see the text message that was written in all caps.

Keith groaned at the sight of it. “it’s like daddy’s boy has nothing better to do, I swear. Guess I’ll have to save meeting him for another day.”

“Best for you to tell him what you think of his singing in person instead of having the message passed along.” Thace suggested as Keith put his face mask back on as they started to exit the performance space and leave the building.

“Yeah, hopefully I don’t have to wait too long.” Keith said

Lance waved one last time to the audience as he headed back stage where a familiar Altean girl was waiting for her.

“Hey, you’re the girl from earlier.”

“Yeah. I wanted to apologize about what I said. I was so wrong.”

Lance shrugged, “you were angry and lashed out. I get it.”

“It’s more than that. I’ve always wanted to be a singer but my parents want me to at least get a college education first so they said that audition was the last one if I at least didn’t get to the third round. If I got it completely, great, but the third round was my target. Then you went and the entire thing got cancelled because they choose someone. I was so upset. I lost my chance until my parents think I’ve learned enough and when I saw you, I just got so mad, so I said those things in attempts to make myself feel better. It wasn’t until later I thought about how it must feel to you. And then there you were on stage and I realised even if I had gone before, it wouldn’t have made a difference. They would have always chosen you. I want to be able to do that, to be that good that they choose me.”

Lance put his hand on her shoulder and gave her an encouraging look. “you will. just sing with all your confidence and they’ll see.”

“I’ll be up on that stage wowing them just like you, you’ll see. until then, consider me one of your fans Prince of Altea.”

* * *

 

Hunk ended to call to Pidge, letting her know how the performance went while Lance was getting compliments from all the workers and taking pictures of the mess of letters Allura and Kolivan had gotten him so he could give another thank you to his growing online fan base for helping him to gain the courage to get on stage. He looked over when the door to the roof opened and Lance, still in his costume came out and headed straight for him.

“There you are. Thanks for your help today.”

“Oh. I just wanted to do something nice for your first performance.” Hunk said, rubbing the back of his head

“I don’t mean the wings, though they were amazing. I meant the advice you gave me. It was a big help.”

“Oh well, I’m glad. You were able to get your feelings across today, so just keep your head up and you’ll be able to keep doing it. Especially with Red looking at you.”

Lance furrowed his brow. “what are you talking about?”

“Allura didn’t tell you? When you were getting ready, Red, that singer you like, he was coming up to meet you but Allura told him not to because she thought it would add to your nerves.”

“Wait, Red, as in Assassin of Music Red?” Lance asked, his eyes widening with the information

“Yeah, though he said he hated that part of his – hey, where are you going?” Hunk asked as Lance turned and went back through the door. Phasing through, Hunk followed him to his dressing room where he threw open the door, scaring the people inside. Lance didn’t seem to care as he went straight for Allura, holding on firmly to her shoulders.

“Allura, is it true the singer Red came to see me?”

“Red? You mean Keith?”

“Keith?” Lance asked

“Keith Kogane, that’s Red’s real name. Most of the time I forget that Red is his stage name but yes, he was here. He saw you perform.”

“And you didn’t tell me? Allura, you know he’s my favourite singer. He’s my ring tone and I listen to his music all the time!” Lance complained, seeming heartbroken his manager kept the information from him

“I know. You were just such a mess this morning that I didn’t want him to make even more of a mess.” Allura said seeming apologetic

“Uggg! I can’t believe I missed a chance to meet Red. Did he see me perform?”

“Yes and I think he enjoyed as much as everyone else.” Allura said, patting Lance’s back as he hung off of her in his sadness. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you but I promise the next time I know he’s nearby, I’ll let you know. Now let’s get you changed and back home ok? A prince needs his beauty rest.”

“This prince would of liked to meet his favourite singer but sure, whatever.” Lance knew he’d be complaining about this for a while. He just hoped he wouldn’t miss the next chance to meet Red in person.

* * *

 

Allura took in how empty Altea Records looked this late at night. After Lance’s performance, they had a small get together at a nearby restaurant as a congratulations and as much as Allura wanted to drop Lance off at home herself, she got a text that called her back to the building. She walked up the hallway and knocked on the large door.

“Come in.” a female voice called. Allura opened the door and sitting behind a large desk was an Altean woman with fuchsia hair and lime green markings under her eyes. “Ah, Allura.”

“Hi Hira. Busy as usual?” Allura asked, walking up to the desk.

“Well, record labels don’t run themselves. Where were you? Usually you come running when I text you.”

Allura looked away. It was wrong what she was doing honestly but the one person her heart still belonged to would never want you, so she stuck with the only one who paid her any attention.

“Isamu’s debut was today.”

“Oh that’s right. Your first talent. He’s made quite the buzz already. Aren’t you glad I got Kolivan for him?” Allura gave her a strained smile. “Enough about that. I have been staring at papers and screens all day and I want a different view. The husband is home today so your choice of the chair or the couch.”

It was wrong of her, to sleep with her married boss. But it’s what she did. She watched as Hira got up and walked around the table until she reached her and gently touched her hair

“Wherever you choose, aren’t I lucky that I get to gaze down on you?” Hira whispered as she close the distance between her and Allura and pressed their lips together.

Allura knew it was wrong to find love in something that shouldn’t have been right, to be with someone who was promised their love to another, but it’s what she did. She only hoped that Lance could never see her, so desperate for love


	7. The Prince's fated meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look, they finally meet, while other shit goes down.  
> Linking Lance's song again [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SOxf4gJcOE) and [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwRRI2yhGMM) is Keith's song. I wanted it to be Higher by Sebastiano Serafini but apparently despite the fact I've only heard that song in Japanese, there is no Japanese lyrics to be found anywhere and I'm not a fan of the English version, so enjoy.  
> Edit:Forgot to mention that this chapter is posted early because I'll be busy tomorrow

“Where are you?” Lance asked looking for Shiro’s car at the front gates of his school.

_“There was a car crash near the hospital; I was pulled in to help.”_

“It’s insane how a doctor who specializes in cancers is always pulled in to help with other situations like this. Is everyone ok?”

_“A lot of broken bones and bloody bruises but not as bad as we had thought. One went into surgery and their significant other is getting on the bullet train to get over here as fast as they can so I promised I’d stay until the surgery was over so I’ll be late in getting you.”_

Lance sighed. He knew it was for a good reason, but Lance was dying to get out of school already. Song was an ass as usual, he almost felt suffocated at gym when the substitute teacher wouldn’t let him take a break during their baseball game, then everyone got mad at him when he kept outing the opposite team – like it was his fault that he kept getting the ball into the umpire’s glove, he was just that good at aiming – and some assholes decided it would be funny to hide his book bag when Lance went to the nurse after the gym fiasco to make sure his temperature hadn’t spiked up. Needless to say, Lance wanted nothing more than to go home and just nap for a few hours. Or go to work. He’d feel like singing for a few hours would improve his mood drastically. He didn’t know when that would be. Allura said he had a few more magazine interviews scheduled and maybe a live performance or a recorded performance. Either would be fine with Lance. Anything that wasn’t here.

_“Oh, wait, the surgery light went off. I might be coming to get you sooner than I thought depending on the news. I’ll text you want happens next ok?”_

“Ok, I’ll be here.”

Lance hung up and sighed as he put his phone in his pocket annoyed he couldn’t bring his headphones. He’d have to get some inconspicuous ones that didn’t have cat eared shaped speakers on them so he could actually sneak them out of the house.

“Kurogane-McClain!” someone shouted in his ear suddenly, leading Lance to yell, close enough to almost trigger coughing fit.

He spun to see one of the swim team captains, Plaxum. Like Blaytz, she was a Nalquod. Nalquods always interested Lance when he was a kid because they were basically mermaids and Lance loved mermaids. He remembered when an older Nalquod came to the foster home Lance was at with Akira, they had been feeling awkward but Lance didn’t even notice as he flooded them with so many questions, it took ages for Akira to slow him down. Akira did tell him that the questions seemed to distract the new member of their crazily mixed family.

Back to Plaxum though, she was part of the group of girls who were in the class next to his and the obvious stars of the swim team, though he heard they were also big conspiracy theorists. What she was doing talking to him though, he had no clue.

“Um, yes?”

“What were you just humming?”

Humming? Lance didn’t even realise he had been doing that. The only song that came to mind would be… “Myself by Isamu, Prince of Altea?”

“I knew it! Oh my gosh, are you a fan?” the Nalquod girl asked, excitedly sticking her face into his causing him to back up. She was cute, but Lance wasn’t used to talking to schoolmates so easily without them trying something.

“Um, yeah.”

“Ahh, this is amazing! Finally someone I can talk to about him without having to listen to them go on and on about how hot he looks, I mean I get it, really good looking but is that the only reason you listen to him?”

“Right.” His looks weren’t the only reason people listened to him was it?

“His message is just, ugg, it’s so amazing and clear and, wow. I’m so glad I got the chance to see him on stage at his debut performance. He looked like a prince just standing there and singing to us.”

“Did you really like it?” Lance asked

“Like it, I loved it. He was so spectacular.” Plaxum was interrupted as his phone rang, though she seemed to be buzzing at the ringtone. “You listen to Red too?”

“Uh, yeah, excuse me.” Lance quickly moved away and answered his phone not checking to see who was calling but happy to be away from the awkward feeling situation. “Hello?”

_“Lance? It’s me, Allura.”_

“Allura, hi. What’s up?”

_“I have your next schedule. It’s for tomorrow. You’re going to be on Ryner’s Idol Knowledge. The famous Enka singer happens to be inviting idols onto her show to give them advice on their performances and such, so you’ll both perform before they do the sit-down part where you two will talk and she’ll give you advice.”_

“A bit strange for an Enka singer to give advice to an idol, but I know she’s been in the business long.” Lance said, knowing the singer she was talking about. Lance wasn’t really into Enka but he knew of Coran’s favourite singer.

_“I know, but a lot of popular singers have been on there so you being there and only debuting a week ago, this is really good for you. It’ll give you tons of exposer that will be really great to have when the summer starts.”_

“I guess. What time and where?”

_“Tell Shiro to drop you off at Arus Broadcasting Station, it’s where the show will be filmed and be there at noon ok? Do you need the address or are you fine Googling it?”_

“If there’s only one Arus Studios, I should be fine. Do I need to do any special?”

_“Nope, I’ll have your costume and there will be make-up and hair stylist there and we’ve got pictures so they can fix you up.”_

“Alright. I guess if I have questions, just text you?”

_“Yes sir. I have to go so I’ll talk to you later?”_

“Sure. Bye.” He hung up and turned around, jumping back when he saw Plaxum had moved closer to him. “What the hell?”

“Just curious who you were talking to. Who’s Allura, your girlfriend?”

“Do you know how personal space works?” he asked moving away, not even answering her question. He could tell she was a nice person, but in his school, people weren’t nice to him. He didn’t know if she was being genuine or if she was looking for someone to entertain her, but Lance didn’t want to be that person.

“Sorry. The girls tell me I can be a bit much at times. I swear Blumfump is the only one who I can talk to about Isamu. You have no idea how pissed he’s been not being able to get a copy of the CD. Everywhere is sold out.”

Allura had mentioned that. “Is it really that hard to find it?”

Plaxum nodded. “I got lucky. After I heard the song on the radio, I sent in a pre-order request and was able to pick it up at the store where he did his debut performance. He’s been borrowing mine but he’s been listening to it constantly that I felt like I haven’t gotten the chance to fully listen to it.”

Now that she wasn’t all in his face, Lance could tell she was different from his classmates. For one, she called him by his last name and not ‘cancer boy’ and for another, she was being genuinely kind to him. He had gotten good at spotting fake kindness and he didn’t see any from her. That’s why he pulled his bag off and pulled out one of the copies of his own CD he had and handed it to Plaxum.

“What’s this?” She asked, looking confused

“I happened to know someone who works at a music store and he got me an extra copy. I’ve already got one, so here. You can give it to Blum-sorry, what was it?”

“Just call him Blum. Are you sure?” she asked, taking the CD from Lance

“You seem nice enough and I don’t need the extra copy so it’s fine.” Lance said as he fixed his bag and saw that Shiro had texted him.

“Can I hug you?” she asked before he could open his text.

“Um, I guess. Oof!” Lance was pulled into an extremely tight hug and overwhelmed by the scent of the ocean and chlorine from the school’s pool

“Thank you! I know I’ve been a bit much but this is so nice of you. I don’t understand how people think you’re annoying, you’re really nice.” People thought _he_ was annoying? They annoyed him! She finally let him go and said, “It’s nice to know I’ve found a new friend. Have lunch with us on Monday? I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

“Um sure I guess.”

“Excellent! I should go give this to Blum. Oh thank you again. Bye Kurogane! I’ll see you on Monday!” with that Plaxum ran off waving at him until she had to face forward to see where she was going.

That was weird. Lance was not used to that at all but it was kinda nice, having someone seem genuinely interested in him. Maybe Plaxum was the real deal.

“Lance!” the brown haired teen turned to see Shiro waving from his car. Right, Shiro had texted him.

Lance ran over to the passenger’s side and climbed in. “I thought you were at the hospital.”

“After I finished calling you, the surgery finished. It went well and they said he’d be fine so I called his partner back and they’re almost here. I’m supposed to be off the clock now anyway so Ulaz said he’d keep an eye out and call me if anything happens. So how was school?”

“Horrible at first because all my classmates are assholes.”

“Language.” Shiro interrupted as usual

“But, it kinda ended on a good note? You know how I’ve been listening to that singer, Isamu Prince of Altea?”

“Name sounds familiar.” Shiro said. Lance had hoped, he’d been trying for a week to get Shiro to listen to it but it was either ‘oh not really my style’ or ‘sorry, have no time’. Lance was determined but he’d worry about that later.

“Well I was humming the song and this girl recognised it and she was nicer than all the other people in my school. A bit in your face but nice none the less.”

Shiro smiled at the thought of Lance actually making friends at his school. It was something he’d been waiting for, for a while.

“Well I hope she’s everything you hope for.”

“Thanks. Oh, I have work tomorrow. I have to go to a broadcasting studio at noon tomorrow, any chance of getting a ride?”

“I have a meeting tomorrow but I can drop you off at the station.”

“Thanks. Think we can grab something to eat before I go back home?”

“Sure, how does taiyaki sound?”

“As long as it’s not red bean paste filling, it’s fine.”

* * *

 

“Oh, there she is.” Lance pointed out on the magazine he held as he waited for the train so he could get to Arus Studios. “Ryner, the Olkari Enka singer who’s knowledge of the world of singing is almost as large as her knowledge of how the world is connected.”

“She seems nice.” Pidge said as she floated over Lance’s shoulder to look at the picture of the kindly looking Olkari woman. She wasn’t dressed in a tradition kimono most Enka singers would wear in the picture but in traditional Olkari clothes of a white hooded robe with a blue sash with dark grey pants. She was standing in a forest, her hand pressed against a large tree and looking peaceful.

“She does. I think she’d be a nice person to be around. I’m still a bit confused what an Enka singer can teach me but I’ll take anything at this point.” Lance flipped the page of his magazine and lit up at the next cover picture. “It’s Red!”

Unlike how Hunk had seen him, Red seemed to be in full Galra mode, with his purple skin and mark on his cheek, his once black hair now two toned with white and purple, his fuzzy ears matching the colour of his hair. In the picture, he was staring the camera down with his purple eyes as he pulled his hood up.

Lance sighed, remembering how close he was to actually meeting him. After his annoyance had dissipated more, he got why Allura told Red not to come up and see him. He was a mess and seeing Red would have defiantly made it worse. Still though, he’d love to get the chance but he didn’t even see how it was possible. Altea Records and Empire Records had a feud as old as the Altean-Galra War. Lance heard that Empire Records didn’t treat their talent well at all so if Allura did approve of Red, then he obviously couldn’t be that bad, but that didn’t mean it’d be easy to meet him.

“Don’t worry Lance, you’ll meet him. Wouldn’t it be great if you two became friends after?” Pidge said

“I mean, I guess I’m kinda friends with The Rebels.” Lance said, thinking of how much Nyma had been texting him to wish him luck for his recorded performance

“There you go. Trust me, one look at you and you two will be great friends, unless of course the two of you don’t get along.”

“Pidge!” Lance and Hunk yelled

“Just putting it out there, sorry.”

“I don’t need that type of worry, please.” Lance said, noticing the train coming into the station.

Before he knew it, he was near Arus Studios and with a snap of Hunk’s fingers, he was Isamu. He spotted Allura, who had straighten her wavy hair and pulled half her hair up into space buns.

“Allura!”

“Lance, there you are.”

“I’m not late am I?” Lance asked pulling his phone out.

“No, you’re early, which I thought you would be. How are you feeling? Ready?”

“I guess so. I like what you did with your hair by the way.”

“Thank you. I was at Altea Records all morning and bumped into one of the stylists and he demanded that he had to do my hair.” Allura said as she linked arms with Lance and lead him inside, where she immediately lost his attention.

“Oh my god, this place is huge. Ooh, Allura look over there! That’s the really hot news anchor I watch all the time. And is that? Oh, it is. It’s the spoke model for my favourite shoe brand.”

Allura looked at all the people who were staring at them and nudged Lance in the side. “Lance, behave!” she hissed

“What? What did I do?”

“Lance, there’s no need to act like an insane fan, your part of this circle now.” She reminded

“Oh, right. Whoops.” Lance tried to reign in his embarrassment.

“It’s ok, just know when it comes Ryner, you can’t act like that. She gets really picky about these details on how you should act in public. For example when you see her, you greet her by saying good morning. It’s how you say hello here and-” Allura was caught off by commotion and the two turned to see two Olkaris walking in, one significantly taller than the other. “Oh my god, she’s here this early?” Allura unhooked her arm from Lance’s and rushed over to the woman, leaving Lance confused on the greeting part since it was noon already.

Ryner, dressed in a pair of slacks and a dress shirt, greeted those who called over at her with a kind air, stopping when Allura came up to her and bowed in greeting.

“Good morning Ryner. I’m the manager for you guest today, Isamu, Prince of Altea. My name is Allura.”

Ryner’s own manager, Lubos bowed his head to her. “A pleasure. But where is this prince?”

Allura looked confused when she turned around to see that Lance was still standing where she had left him and had to hold in a frustrated scream.

“Lubos, let’s go.” Ryner said as she walked around the still stunned Allura.

“Yes ma’am. We’ll be seeing you later then.” Lubos said as he followed Ryner.

Lance watched her approach and also noticed Allura trying to gesture something to him but he had no clue what she was trying to say.  The Olkari woman who was approaching him seemed familiar but he couldn’t put together who she could be but he did bow his head in greeting and said good afternoon but the cold look he got made him feel like he said the wrong thing.

“Wasn’t that Ryner?” Hunk asked from Lance’s tote bag

“Huh, that was Ryner?” Lance asked.

“Yes, it was! Lance, why didn’t you come with me?” Allura asked as she came over

“Sorry, it’s just. I didn’t really recognise her in human clothes. Most Olkari I see tend to wear things from their culture.”

“True as that might be, Ryner grew up here in Japan, so it won’t be that strange that she wears human clothes.”

“Right, sorry.”

Allura sighed and then took a deep breath so she could relax. “It’s ok. Let’s go drop your stuff off in your greenroom and then we can go and greet her properly this time.”

“Ok.” Allura lead Lance down a hall, not noticing that Lance’s earlier fan freak out had caught the attention of a certain Galra manager, who knew of one person who’d be pretty happy to see the white haired prince.

Unaware of the attention they had gotten, Lance and Allura dropped their bags off in their green room and walked over to Ryner’s, where Allura had to take a few deep breaths in front of the door.

“Ok, this time, make sure you say good morning and be polite.”

“I will.” Lance promised, taking a deep breath himself.

Allura knocked on the door herself and announced when asked who it was, “It’s Allura and Isamu.” The door was opened by Lubos and Lance could see Ryner sitting in front of a mirror as a make-up artist gently dusted power on her face. “I wanted to apologize for our mixed up greeting and formally introduce ourselves again properly. My name is Allura from Altea Records and this is…”

Lance bowed in greeting, “good morning, my name is Isamu, Prince of Altea. I’ll be a guest on your show today and I know it’ll be a pleasure working with you today.”

Seeming to be in a much better mood, Ryner nodded her head as much as she could while the make-up artist worked on her face. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well. My name is Ryner. I hope we can work well together.”

“Thank you. I do apologise for the confusion this morning. He’s still very new to this and-Lance!” Allura yelled as Lance quickly took his shoes off and ran inside to look at the green kimono that was hanging up for Ryner.

“This kimono is beautiful. Are you going to be wearing it today? It kinda reminds me of the ones I’ve seen at the children’s shrine.” Lance said, not seeing everyone’s faces, at least until he had been kicked out and the door slammed in his and Allura’s face. “Did I say something wrong? It was a compliment.”

* * *

 

“Ok, so maybe that might have indicated she was a bit old.” Lance said sitting in one of the lobbies while Allura went to go sob in a corner. Well, not really sob, but she looked close to it. Lance didn’t think he’d cause this much trouble already, but here he was.

“She was kinda mean. What was with that glare she gave you just because you didn’t greet her properly?” Pidge pointed out, sitting cross legged on the padded bench next to Lance, Hunk on his other side. “I thought Olkaris were supposed to be nice.”

“Come on Pidge, it’s like Lance thinking Olkaris only wear Olkari clothes.” Hunk said

“He is right. Maybe she just had a bad day or thought I was being rude because she seemed nicer when I greeted her properly.” Lance said

“I guess, but still. Throwing you out because of the shrine comment was a bit much.”

“Oh my spirits, Ryner is such a pushover.” Lance looked at the group of girls who were smoking across from him. The girl in the middle, a Unilu with pink hair said, “She’s so stuck up and my spirits, if I have to listen to one of her lectures one more time.”

“Don’t even get my started on that manager of hers. He’s such a kiss ass.” Another girl said. Lance thought she was an alien because of the silver hair she had but Lance then realised she was a regular human. “He’s always kissing up to Ryner.”

“Isn’t that what you were trying to do with her too?” the other girl, who had to be the same species of alien Rolo was if the features were anything to go off of, asked the human girl

“Well if you want to succeed in showbiz, you’ve got to.” The girl said proudly, causing her friends to laugh. “But my god, if I didn’t need to do this, I’d be so out of here so I don’t have to be around her. We should get going.”

“Oh right, rehearsal starts soon.” The Unilu said as she got up and put her cigarette out and threw it out in the ashtray garbage they had to of pulled closer to them while they gossiped. The other girls followed her, but human girl hadn’t put her out properly.

“I like them.” Pidge said as the girls disappeared

“Pidge.” Hunk said disapprovingly

“What? They’re just confirming what we already guessed. I mean, there’s something about that manager I don’t like.”

“He hasn’t even done anything.” Lance said standing up to properly put the cigarette out but was stopped by a sharp voice

“What do you think you’re doing? You’re nowhere near the legal age to even be smoking.” Ryner came over and put the cigarette out herself.

“No, it’s not like that. The girls from before…” Lance tried explaining

“And you’re talking back? Planets above, I’ve never met such a rude boy before. Back in my day, I wouldn’t even think of talking back to my elders.” That cold look he had gotten from Ryner was back on her face as she turned away and walked off, leaving Lance feeling like he wasn’t doing anything right.

“Ok wow, rude. Lance can’t even smoke anyway.” Pidge said, glaring at the Olkari woman’s back “I’m gonna show her a piece of my mind.” And with that, flew off after Ryner, Hunk flying after her, telling her to stop.

“Guys, wait! Get back here!” Lance yelled as loud as he could, though he did notice not a ton of people looked over at him and those who did did it quickly like they wanted to see who spoke. Lance sighed, “god those two. I’m sure if this wasn’t a broadcasting studio, I’d get a lot more strange looks.”

One of the people who had noticed him was a hooded figure with water bottles in his hand. His eyes widened when he realised it was Isamu who had just been talking but before he could go up to him, Allura came in calling for him.

“Rehearsal is gonna start soon. We’re going to quickly get through hair and make-up alright?”

“Yeah. Sorry about earlier again.”

“Just don’t do it again so Ryner can’t get mad at you ok?” Allura asked, gently holding onto Lance’s arms

The white haired teen nodded, “alright. Let’s go.”

The figure knew he couldn’t interrupt him now but hopefully he’d get a chance soon.

* * *

 

The set being used for the performance part of the show was one of the large rooms. The stage was brightly lit, with different coloured draperies in the background and a large crystal hanging from the ceiling. The amount of camera surprised Lance, with all the different crew members running around and testing mics.

“Wow. There are a lot of people.” Lance pointed out, wanting to play with his hair in nervousness but didn’t want to mess up the half ponytail or the delicate chains in his hair

“They’re all here to help broadcast your song. You’ll be ok.” Allura said

“Prince Isamu,” a staff member came over, “we’re ready for you, so go ahead on stage.”

“Ok, wish me luck.” He said to Allura as he followed the staff member to the stairs for the stage.

“Is there anything particular that you do when singing, like where you move?” the staff member asked

“Um, I’m on my knees for the first part of the song then I stand up but I stay in the same place.”

“Alright. Here’s your mic and if you can stand where the X is.” He instructed

Lance stood where he was told and kneeled down as the staff member walked behind the line of cameras and started counting down and when he was given the signal, he started singing

**_Doushite doushite suki nan darou  
Konna ni namida afureteru-_ **

Lance had felt like something was approaching him and when he looked in his peripherals, he toppled over at the sight of a camera getting really close to him.

“Cut! Are you alright?”

Lance watched the camera on the crane move back into its starting position and cursed himself in his head. “Yeah sorry. The camera just surprised me.”

“Ok, well that’s going to happen, so be prepared this time ok?” the staff member said

Lance nodded as he got up, “ok, sorry.”

“Alright, let’s reset. And we go in 5, 4, 3.” The last two seconds were counted off

**_Doushite doushite suki nan darou  
Konna ni namida afureteru_ **

The stage manager then called for laser lights to turn on and Lance would forever feel like an idiot for not realising what they were before but at that moment Lance was trying to avoid them touching him until he was so unbalanced on his knees that he went toppling over, again.

“Cut! Does he think something will happen to him if the lasers touch him?” the producer asked those around him. “Whatever, let’s take a break and get Ryner in here.”

The same staff member that had been talking to Lance came over to Allura, who was trying not to panic.

“We’re going to take a break so maybe you can tell Prince Isamu…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll talk to him and calm him down.” Allura promised

“Alright, thank you. Alright everyone, let’s take a break!” he announced while Allura went over to the stage where Lance was hiding his face in his arms while still lying on the floor from when he fell over

“Lance? Are you ok?”

“No.” came his muffled answer

“Come on, let’s go take a walk. Maybe you can listen to Red’s music and take a breather.”

“Why is it that the live performance didn’t seem as hard?” Lance asked removing his face from his hiding place

“There are a lot more elements in this and your new to this Lance, remember that. Come on, stop lying on the stage and let’s go calm you down. I want to go talk to Ryner’s manager and – oh make sure you don’t get caught on anything.” Allura reminded as Lance decided to forgo the stairs and just slid off stage. She helped Lance unclip his cape so he’d have less weight on him and decided to hold onto it since she’d be nearby anyway. “Go back to the green room and relax. I will send someone to come get you before we start but there’ll be another break after Ryner is done.”

“Ok.” Lance slinked off and was quick to disappear into his greenroom to grab his phone and headphones. He had slipped them around his neck when he heard a familiar voice.

“Look at how hot she is. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t want a chance with her.”

“Pidge, you just told me she was gay. Unless you also meant she was bi or pan, I don’t think I have a chance.”

He peeked around the corner to see Pidge gushing over a female singer who was talking with someone, unknowing that she had a stalker. Hunk just looked tired.

“Hunk!” he hissed, hoping the singer didn’t also hear him. He was lucky; Hunk heard him and grabbed Pidge to pull her over to Lance. “What are you two doing? You guys disappeared. I thought you’d be stalking Ryner.”

“That’s what I thought, but this one over here got distracted by cute girls.” Hunk said, pointing at Pidge who was still staring after the female singer.

“Well she should know that last time I checked a magazine, that singer in particular has a girlfriend.” Lance said, vaguely recognising her

“Really? Aww, all the good ones are taken.” Pidge whined. “So why are you here? Shouldn’t you be, um, where should you be?”

“I _was_ in rehearsal except I kept messing up so I was pretty much asked to leave until the actual event I guess.” Lance said, fitting the headphones on his ears so people wouldn’t question why he was talking to thin air

“Ouch.” Pidge said

“It’s not my fault, it’s just. This is all new and I feel like I have to do well or Ryner will stay mad at me but I’m not so it’s just causing me to freak out more.”

“Don’t worry Lance. Just try calming down and focus on the song instead of everything else. Just picture it as if you’re at you live and your about the sing it in front of everyone.” Hunk suggested as the two Shinigami followed Lance to a length of chairs

“Somehow, that doesn’t make me feel better.” Lance said as he opened his music app and went to the most recent album. He was deciding what Red song to listen to when he felt someone touch his shoulder.

“Excuse me?” why did that voice sound so familiar? Lance looked up from his phone and everything seemed to stand still. When he met The Rebels, Lance had been able to control his inner fanboy. That was not going to happen now because standing in front of him was the same person whose picture was on most of the albums Lance owned. “You’re Isamu, Prince of Altea right?” Lance could only nod mutely. “I’m Red, the assumed Assassin of Music I guess? That’s what everyone calls me, but I think it’s just supposed to connect to my Blade of Mamora connections. I never really understood it personally.”

Neither did Lance but speaking now would just open the flood gate because you know, Red, his favourite singer, was standing in front of him, talking to him and oh god, he was going to have to respond soon wasn’t he? What the hell was he going to say, what could he say? What was he going to do?

“Who is that?” Pidge asked

“I’m surprised you don’t recognise him from Lance’s album list on his phone. That’s Red.”

“As in the one who came to see him at his performance? The one he acts spazzy about?” Hunk nodded. “Oh this is perfect! Rover, start recording this right now, I can’t wait to rub this in his face!”

“Anyway,” Red continued, “I saw your debut performance and you were really amazing. I wanted to come wish you luck before but Allura told me I couldn’t and then after your performance I got called into work so I didn’t get to tell you after how much I loved your performance. Then I saw you in the lobby but you were called for rehearsal so I thought I’d take the chance to say that and introduce myself now.”

Lance was supposed to say something here now wasn’t he?

“Are you ok?”

“Music.” Lance finally got out

“Music?” Red questioned

“I like your music!” there it was, bursting out like Lance _didn’t_ want it to because of the surprised look Red’s face. He didn’t want to see that look on Red’s face. “I mean,” Lance stuttered out as he got up, “I’m a huge fan of your music. Like really big fan. My ringtone is your phone and, wait, why did I say that?” He could hear Hunk and Pidge laughing at him but he couldn’t go turning around and glaring at air could he?

“Oh thank you.” Red said, bowing his head in thanks. “I didn’t know you like my music that much.”

“How can I not? It’s always a big mood booster and it always makes me feel better on my bad days. I mean the ones that have been written by you I like better than the ones written by your producer in my opinion. No offense.”

“No trust me, I agree completely. Thank you though.” Red said, giving Lance a smile that seemed to stop everything in his mind.

“I, uh, um, you’re welcome.”

“Should I laugh or feel sorry for him?” Hunk asked, keeping his laughter in.

“Oh we comfort him any other time.” Pidge said, not bothering to hide her laughter.

“You wanted to meet me?” Lance asked

Red nodded. “You seemed interesting and then I heard you sing and I wanted the chance to meet you more. The series you said that inspired your name? I’ve actually read that series.”

“Really? Not a lot of people I know have. I only had the prince’s story when I was a kid.”

“The others are really good. Maybe I can look out for other copies. I borrowed the books from a library that isn’t open anymore and they weren’t available at the book sale they had when they were selling all the surplus of books.” Red suggested

Lance nodded shyly, “if it’s ok with you, I’d appreciate it.”

“Aww, look at our little boy. You know, Red is kinda good looking and Lance is obviously infatuated. Hunk, what if he got with Red?”

Lance stiffened at Pidge’s suggestion, so very tempted to yell at her but again, couldn’t do it to thin air.

“Hmm, Akira might have competition.” Hunk wasn’t helping. “Hmm, hey isn’t that the interviewer for Galaxy Star Monthly and the photographer?”

Lance looked around Red to see Blaytz and Riku walking down the hall behind them, talking loudly enough for Lance to hear them talking about Ryner. He couldn’t help his curiosity.

“Can you excuse me?” he asked Red, not bothering to wait for an answer as he ran off after Blaytz and Riku. He peeked around the corner to see the two sitting on a couch as Riku poured a packet of sugar into his cup of coffee. Lance had noticed that Red had followed him but was quiet as he peeked over Lance’s shoulder.

“I don’t know how you do it Blaytz. That woman gives me such a scared feeling.” Riku complained as he put his top back on his cup

“Oh come on Riku, serious photographer like you, scared of Ryner?” Blaytz teased

“I’m sorry, you wanna be instructed on how to do your job?” Riku said, seeming to glare at Blaytz, who just laughed at him.

“Don’t be so weak Riku. She can be a bit much, but Ryner has a good side.”

“Kinda hard to see it with all those rumours flying around about her. Harsh on novices to the point of picking on them, hard to deal with, which I can attest to.” Riku said

“True as that might be, ever think that she’s that way because she cares and trying to show the idols she works with she’s there to help them?”

Riku looked as confused as Lance felt. “How?”

“You know she was forced to be an idol right? She had to debut with a song she didn’t like and didn’t have anyone in her corner to help her. She had become so depressed that she drank and smoked until her voice was ruined. She was in a constant cloud of nothingness I guess until she went back to where she was born. She came with her parents to Japan when she was only a baby so she didn’t really grow up surrounded by the teachings and traditions of Olkari. When she went there, she went through a transformation I guess. She started to see her life in a new light and changed herself but obviously everything she had been through didn’t just leave. The way she is now is no doubt is a result of what she’s been through.” Blaytz explained

“I never knew that. That would explain the way she acts now. Back then, she was a pretty amazing singer wasn’t she?” Riku asked

“An amazing singer. You know how Olkari have this way of finding the technology in anything because of their belief of how everything is connected? Well listening to her sing was like experiencing that. It’s hard to find a singer nowadays that can have a similar effect.”

Hearing enough, Lance gestured for Red to move back, taking notice with how close they were at that moment. He also noticed he was taller than Red, only by a few inches but it still surprised Lance. Once they were far enough that they wouldn’t get caught, Lance let out a sigh.

“That’s why she got so upset that time.”

“Upset?”

“Before I got called to rehearsal, I was out in one of the lobbies and there were a group of girls smoking. They went to their own rehearsal but one of the girls didn’t put her cigarette out correctly and I went to go and do it but Ryner saw me and I guess she thought I was trying to smoke.”

“Ah, I can see how she would have taken that.” Red said

“Um trust me when I say I’d love to talk to you more, but I really need to go apologize to her.” Lance said

“I understand really. I probably have to get back to my own rehearsal.”

“You have a performance today?” Lance asked, trying to go through his calendar of know Red performances, though the ones on TV were a bit blank seeing how he rarely watched it.

“For Coalition Arch.” Lance knew that program. A bunch of stars and hosts talking for an hour and if there were singer in the bunch, performances as well.

“Oh, well good luck and thank you for, um, liking my singing I guess. It means a lot.”

“Of course. I’ll see you around then?” at Lance’s nod, Red waved and walked off, leaving Lance to stare after him

 _Can you feel the love tonight?_  
The peace the evening brings  
The world, for once, in perfect harmony  
With all its living things

Finally having a chance, Lance turned and glared at the two Shinigami, who only giggled through their singing at the glare they were getting from Lance.

“You guys are assholes.” Was all he said before he walked back to the studio, leaving the two to giggle after him

* * *

 

“It seems that there taking a break and wants you to go next, but I told them that wasn’t possible but they insisted.” Lubos sat in front of Ryner who was drinking tea.

“I understand. If they need me, no need to keep them waiting.” Ryner said setting her cup down and standing up.

“Really? Oh thank goodness. That novice, what was he thinking? He was really rude to you and he messed up the schedule. He’s a rather rude person isn’t?” Lubos said, not realising Ryner had left without him until he heard the door closing.

They walked into the studio where Lance immediately ran up to them and bowed.

“Ryner, I wanted to apologize…” Lance sentence trailed off as Ryner walked right passed him, not even seeming to care. “Huh?”

“Alright, you, out now.” Lubos instructed Lance to do, pushing Lance out of the room. “It’s time for Ryner’s performance and if you do anything bad, it’ll distract her so just stay out here.” Lance flinched as he slammed the door behind him.

“What the hell? Why did he throw Lance out? Don’t tell me it was Ryner. We were just getting a better opinion of her.” Pidge questioned as she and Hunk watched Lubos walk over to the director and start talking to him

“He’s a troublesome novice isn’t he? We might as well save us the trouble and take out his performance completely and just have Ryner’s new single in instead.” Lubos said, smiling at the director rather slimily.

“Tell me I didn’t just hear that.” Pidge said as the director nodded uncertainly

“We have to tell him.” Hunk said, quickly phasing through the door to find Lance sitting in one of the line of seats sitting in the hallway. “Lance! You won’t believe what we just heard.”

“What? They’re not letting me sing?” Lance asked after Hunk and Pidge explained what they heard. “But…”

“I can’t believe we were about to become understanding of her. She’s completely evil.” Pidge fumed

“What is the meaning of this?” the group turned to see Allura glaring down at Lubos who didn’t seem at all bothered by the obvious disadvantage of height and how angry Allura was. “What do you mean Isamu isn’t performing?”

“It can’t be helped. He was completely troublesome to Ryner which is why we’re changing the schedule. We don’t have free time like you do.”

“Be that as it may, this is too cruel.” Allura said, not seeing that Lance had gotten up from his seat and was running right for the door to the studio until he ran in between her and Lubos. “Lance, wait, where are you going?”

Lance was glad they hadn’t seemed to of started yet as he ran up the stage where Ryner stood. “Ryner! They saying they won’t let me sing on your program today, is that true?”

Ryner looked completely confused, “what are you talking about?”

“Your manager Lubos said,” Lance started noticing that Allura and Lubos had followed him into the studio and Ryner had narrowed her eyes at him, like she was suspected something of him. “I understand that I’ve been in your way and have caused you problems but not letting me sing is too much of a punishment. This would be my first time on TV and I want to sing quickly.”

Ryner scoffed, “sing quickly? Why, so you can become a big star that everyone idolizes?”

Lance shook his head, “that’s not true!”

“Is it not? Then why did you become a singer?”

Thoughts of a messy haired man with that smile that Lance loved burned in his mind. “I made a promise to someone important. I have no clue where he is but we made a promise that we would achieve our dreams by the time we meet again. So please, let me sing.”

“You’re incredibly naive. Once you get truly into this job, you’ll completely forget about it. You’ll only sing because it’s your job.”

“No I won’t! Is that really the reason you sing? Because it’s your job?” Lance asked, trying to understand Ryner

“Of course, that’s what makes me a pro.”

Lance shook his head. “I don’t think like that. I never got the chance to go out and sing like I do now, so all I want to do is sing with this feeling inside me and share it with everyone. If that’s considered wrong in this industry, then I’m perfectly fine not being a pro. I don’t want to be a big star everyone idolizes; I just want to be able to touch people with my songs.”

Ryner stared down at Lance, who gazed up at her with this determined look in his eyes, refusing to back down. She hadn’t seen that look in a long time. She decided to back down and got off the stage. She needed to have a talk with Lubos.

Lance stared after Ryner, thinking she’d say something back but she seemed to be heading for the door.

“Prince Isamu, if you will.” the staff member from earlier said to Lance.

“What?”

“We’re going to do your rehearsal now.”

“But, I thought I wasn’t singing.” Lance questioned

“Don’t worry.” Allura walked up to Lance, his cape in her hands as she let it drape open so she could put it back on Lance and taking Lance’s headphones from off his neck. “It was the old guy who had suggested it. Don’t worry, you can sing.”

“We might be a bit behind schedule anyway. Ryner just told the director she needs to wait for her Olkari stylist to change her outfit.” Another staff member said

“Good luck Lance.” Allura said as Lance took his mic and went on stage.

“Let’s take it from the top. I’d like to be able to be ready when Ryner gets back. Going in 5, 4, 3.”

**_Doushite doushite suki nan darou  
Konna ni namida afureteru_ **

Lance could only think of Akira, with that smile making that promise with Lance. A promise that Lance would never forget.  
  
**_Ano koro ha ushinau_**  
**_mono ga oosukite_**  
**_nani mo utaenakatta_**  
**_Sukoshi hanareta basho_**  
**_soko ga watashi no_**  
**_ibasho datta_**  


Ryner hadn’t left just yet. She stood near the door watching Lance. She remembered how when she was told she’d be an idol and how she protested, saying how she wanted to do Enka, no one listened to her and what she wanted. She wasn’t as brave as Lance was, to not care where he could end up, as long as was able to share his music with everyone. It had taken Ryner so long to feel like that again until she had gone to Olkarion. Lance would get far in the promise, she was sure of it.

  
**_Kimi no hitomi no oku ni ano hi_ **  
**_samishisa wo mitsuketa_ **  
**_Futari niteru no kana?_ **  
**_Kitsukeba itsu mo tonari ni ite kureta_ **

  
**_Doushite konna ni suki nan darou_**  
**_Kimi no koe kanshii hodo hibiiteru yo_**  
**_Ima made nani ga sasae datta ka_**  
**_Tooku hanarete wakatta yo_**  
  
**_Nakinagara sagashi tsuduketa_**  
**_maigo no kodomo no you ni_**  
**_Kedo soko ni ha eien nante aru wake nakute_**  
  
**_dare mo shinjinakereba iin da yo_**  
**_tsubuyaita ne_**  
**_Futari niteru no kana?_**  
**_Ano toki kimi wo mamoru to kimeta no ni_**  
  
**_Doushite konna ni suki nandarou_**  
**_Toosugite chikasugite todokanai yo_**  
**_wasureyoutte omoeba omou hodo_**  
**_Kimi ga ookiku natteku yo_**  
  
**_Doushite konna ni suki nan darou_**  
**_Kimi no koe kanshii hodo hibiiteru yo_**  
**_Ima made nani ga sasae datta ka_**  
**_Tooku hanarete wakatta yo_**  
  
**_Doushite konna ni suki nan darou_**  
**_Kantan sugite kotae ni naranai_**

Outside, Lubos let out a yelp as technologized branch from a nearby potted plant wrapped around him and lifted him in the air so he was eye level with Ryner, who looked down right furious

“Everything in me is telling me to slap you but I’ll hold out on it because that seems too light a punishment. Now I understand why you were named after an Olkari king who turned his back on his people to save his own skin. You go and try to cause trouble to the one idol I’ve met so far that actually cares about how he his song reaches people. Do me a favour and don’t come to work tomorrow. I have no desire to be around you for much longer.” Ryner removed her hand from the plant, calling it back to its dormant state and walking back to her greenroom, ignoring Lubos’ calls for her to wait.

* * *

Lance climbed off the stage and quickly ran over to an available staff member. Ryner wasn’t back yet and he needed to see if a certain someone was still here.

“Excuse me, you wouldn’t happen to know if filming for Coalition Arch is still going on would you?”

“Coalition Arch? Yes, but they’re probably doing the last bit of filming now. Why?”

“I wanted to know if the singer Red is performing because if I miss this chance to see him, I might just cry.” Lance knew he was getting a weird look, but this was important.

“Um, one second.” The staff member unclipped their walkie talkie and hit the call button. “studio 8 to studio 5?”

“Yes?” someone answered

“Are you guys done filming?”

“No, we’re on break before our last performer goes on and we end.”

“Would that performer be Red, the singer?”

“The Galra singer? Yeah. Why?”

“You’re going to have someone sneaking into your studio in a few seconds. Don’t throw him out, he’s royalty.” They clipped their radio back on and pointed out the door. “out the door, to your right, go straight and make a left at the turn and it’s the third door on your right.”

“Thank you so much!” Lance ran over to Allura, tugging on his cape to get her to help him get it off

“What’s with you?” She asked as she quickly got it off of Lance.

“Red is here and he’s about to perform. Allura, I have to see him please.”

Allura couldn’t help but laugh. It was like when he found out Red had been at his performance all over again, but less spazy if that was possible.

“Do you have your phone on you?” Lance nodded, “go then and be back as soon as you can go through the door ok?”

“Yes ma’am!” with that Lance dashed out the door and straight to Studio 5 as he had been instructed. There was a staff member waiting outside and one glance at the circlet around Lance’s forehead told him who he was supposed to be.

“You’re in time. We were about to finish commercials.”

“Thank you for letting me watch.” Lance thanked, as he ducked under the person’s arm and into the studio. The stage had rows of seats, with a seat at the side for the hosts and the front had a dance floor that was clear and standing in the middle going over steps was Red, his hood up to hide most of his two toned white hair. Even if there was a live audience, Lance didn’t want to start screaming.

“And before we end our show today,” the host announced from his seat, “we’d like to present to you the Assassin of Music, Red and his new song _Fire_!” now Lance could scream with the rest of the crowd

**_Osore no nai_ **

**_mubō toiu kodoku ga hora_ **

**_ashi ni boku o maneku_ **

**_but_ **

**_hakari shire nu tomo_ **

**_ikitsuzukeru michi_ **

****

**_hora mi te_ **

**_ima sugu_ **

****

**_WE ARE THE FIRE_ **

**_nan datte dekiru_ **

**_WE ARE THE FIRE_ **

**_umaku iku sa_ **

**_bokura wa tsuyoku_ **

**_moetsuzuke teru_ **

**_motto_ **

**_motto_ **

****

**_WE ARE THE FIRE_ **

**_Together as one_ **

**_WE ARE THE FIRE_ **

**_Together as one_ **

**_kowagatte tatte sa_ **

**_tsumaranai desho?_ **

**_kitto_ **

**_motto_ **

****

**_shikujiru boku o_ **

**_ho kuso warau yatsura ni_ **

**_aisatsu o shi ta n da_ **

**_sō,_ **

**_uso de katame ta_ **

**_egao totomoni_ **

****

**_hora mi te_ **

**_ima sugu_ **

****

**_WE ARE THE FIRE_ **

**_nan datte dekiru_ **

**_WE ARE THE FIRE_ **

**_umaku iku sa_ **

**_bokura wa tsuyoku_ **

**_moetsuzuke teru_ **

**_motto_ **

**_motto_ **

****

**_WE ARE THE FIRE_ **

**_Together as one_ **

**_WE ARE THE FIRE_ **

**_Together as one_ **

**_kowagatte tatte sa_ **

**_tsumaranai desho?_ **

**_kitto_ **

**_motto_ **

****

**_sora mi te_ **

**_ima sugu_ **

****

**_WE ARE THE FIRE_ **

**_nan datte dekiru_ **

**_WE ARE THE FIRE_ **

**_umaku iku sa_ **

**_bokura wa tsuyoku_ **

**_moetsuzuke teru_ **

**_motto_ **

**_motto_ **

****

**_WE ARE THE FIRE_ **

**_Together as one_ **

**_WE ARE THE FIRE_ **

**_Together as one_ **

**_kowagatte tatte sa_ **

**_tsumaranai desho?_ **

**_kitto_ **

**_motto_ **

 

Lance cheered with the rest of the crowd as Red bowed to everyone and somehow caught his eye. The smile and wave he got was so worth all the teasing Hunk and Pidge gave after he left to go do his own show, where Ryner was much nicer and seemingly happier in her Olkari traditional clothes.


	8. A day with the Prince and the Assassin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this, the two boys are actually spending more than 2 pages together? Of course, this is only the beginning for these two. A reminder to go check out the art that my artist, aceveria-art, did for this chapter actually, over [here](https://aceveria-art.tumblr.com/post/178844758780/purikura-altean-lance-and-galrahuman-shifter) . I got so excited to be paired with them and it kept growing with each doodle sheet and wip sheet they sent me. We both worked really hard on this so go show them some love!

Lance sighed in annoyance as he shut the door to Shiro’s car and moved to go to the front gate when he heard a certain someone call after him. He turned around and glared at Shiro, who was leaning over the driving gear to get as close to the passengers side of the door as he could.

“No goodbye?” Shiro asked

Shiro, no matter how hard Lance pushed, hadn’t listened to his song – well Isamu’s song, but Shiro didn’t need to know that part – and frankly, Lance was getting annoyed. Shiro was the closest thing he had to a parent and he already knew the one time Lance’s song came on because Coran didn’t realise his headphones weren’t plugged into his tablet, his grandmother demanded within the first few bars that he get Coran to turn it off. Shiro kept saying, ‘Oh, I’m too old to listen to this’ or ‘it’s not really my style’ without even really listening to it. And it seemed like whenever they were near a radio and the song came on, something interrupted them and he had to turn it down or off and Lance wasn’t sure how much more he could take.

“No.” Lance said, before quickly going inside. He knew he was acting like a child, but he didn’t care. What was the point if the one person he wanted to listen to his song wouldn’t?

He’d walked into the main house when his phone started to ring. Lance quickly answered it as he hid in the genkan

“Hello?”

_“Lance, it’s me Allura. You are never going to believe this. I’ve secured a photo shoot for you tomorrow and you’ll never guess who with. Guess!”_

“Um, is it-” before Lance could even try guessing, he heard footsteps and quickly hung up and stuffed his phone in his pocket just as his grandmother was turning the corner.

“Lance, what was that noise?”

“What noise?”

“I thought I heard music playing, like a phone ringing.”

Lance shrugged his shoulders. “I didn’t hear anything. Maybe it was Coran’s phone?”

Lance watched his grandmother turn around and start calling for Coran, leaving Lance to feel a bit bad for pointing at Coran and really bad for hanging up on Allura. He hoped she wasn’t too upset. He quickly took his shoes off and disappeared into the kitchen to grab a snack and left as quickly as he could. It was a relief once he was back inside his room.

He tried calling Allura back but she didn’t pick up. Instead she texted him saying she got pulled into a meeting at the last second and sent him the address of where he had to meet her for the photoshoot and was strongly reminded in three different texts to _be on time_.

_The photographer is extremely picky, more than Riku was, so try and be here on time please._

“So how’d it go with Shiro? Did he listen to it?” Hunk asked

Lance shook his head. “No. I don’t know how much more I can do of this. I should just give up now shouldn’t I?”

“Oh come on Lance, don’t give up so easily. Come on, it’s just Shiro.” Hunk said

“Yeah except that compared to my blood related grandmother, Shiro’s had more confidence in me than she has. He’s always supported me and has been the closest thing to a dad I’ve ever had. Is it so wrong that I want him to listen to the song I wrote and tell me if it’s good or not?”

“But it is good.” Pidge said confused

“Yeah, but I want to hear him say that. You have to understand that with my grandmother, it feels like I never had a chance for my talents to be appreciated. Shiro always did that and I just want him to say I did good.”

“Oh come on, Lance. You think a song is gonna make a difference in how proud Shiro is of you?” Pidge asked

Lance shrugged. He knew Shiro was proud of him but hearing it was nice. Besides, he worked hard to write that song and perform it.

“Whatever. I have work tomorrow by the way. A photo shoot with someone. We have to be on time.” Lance said, changing the subject

“Um question? Am I gonna be stuck here?” Pidge asked

Lance shook his head. “When I was heading out the door earlier, I told my grandmother that I was invited to a friend’s house for the day and since I’ve never had friends before, she agreed completely.”

“Oh, so Plaxum and her friends…?” Hunk questioned

“All a bit much, but all very nice. It was nice after the broadcasting to talk with someone other than Allura about it.”

“Do you remember the look on his face when he came home after she invited him to lunch for the first time? Are you sure we can’t ship?” Pidge asked

“Plaxum might be bi but she prefers girls.” Lance reminded

“Fine. Guess it’ll have to be Red then.”

“Music! I like your music!” Hunk said, mocking the first thing Lance said to Red, his favourite singer

“Shut up! Stop doing that! It’s so embarrassing!” Lance did not like thinking about how he embarrassed himself in front of Red when he first met him. He was glad that Red was so nice not to say anything about it and he gave Lance that smile after his own performance. God, Lance would kill for the chance to see him again but he had no clue when or even if that would happen again. He tried not to think it was because of the feud between Altea Records and Empire Records, but honestly, it had to be. He knew that the two companies didn’t get along and there were rumours about how Empire Records treated their talent. Allura did vouch for Red, saying he was a better person to be around then most of the talent from Empire Records, but she did also say the chances of seeing him again so soon would be slim. But Lance would so kill for just a chance to talk to Red again; maybe have an actual conversation with him. But like Allura said, the chances of that were slim.

* * *

 

How did this happen? How the _fucking hell_ did this happen? Lance got up on time and got breakfast but then his grandmother wanted to talk to him and she just kept going on and on. Lance knew he was late but he was sure that if he caught the train on time, he’d be fine. Except while on the train, they were stuck at a station for what seemed like hours, not moving. Lance barely had time to duck into a bathroom to change into his Altean self and pull on his beanie and fake glasses he now had to wear because his face was everywhere now. Lance had to dodge so many people in the street as he followed the GPS’ instructions on where to go. Then finally he found it. The building seemed to be under ground level so when Lance saw how packed the escalators were and having no time to find the elevator for it, he went racing down the stairs. He also noticed that his phone kept going off, but the rush to get downstairs and into the building, he ignored it.

As he reached the last set of stairs, someone passing him, knocked his shoulder rather hard and Lance missed a step and went pitching forward

“Lance!” Pidge and Hunk yelled

Lance couldn’t catch himself on any step so he braced himself for a painful landing unsure if Hunk and Pidge could stop him around so many people. He felt himself crash into something and then they crashed onto the floor, but Lance wasn’t hurt. Whatever he landed on cushioned his fall, but what the heck did he land on?

He pushed himself up, hearing Hunk and Pidge question if he was ok and looked down at the person he had landed on. Their black hair was covered by their own beanie, their mouth covered with a black face mask. Their purple eyes were practically closed in pain, if how they were grabbing their head was any indication.

“I’m so sorry. Are you ok?” Lance asked

“I’m fine. I just hit my head really hard.” They answered as they pushed themselves up onto their elbow. “What about you? You came falling down the stairs.”

“Oh, uh…”

“Lance!” Lance looked away to see Allura running over to him. He realised that they had a few people staring at them. “Lance, are you alright? Keith, is that you?”

“Hi Allura.” The guy, Keith said, still rubbing their head

Keith? Why did that sound so familiar? Keith, Keith…Kogane? As in the real name of Red? Did Lance fall, land on and possibly hurt Red, his favourite singer?

“Wait, Red?” Lance asked. He didn’t see any marking poking out from under the face mask and Hunk said Red had his mark when he came to his debut.

Before he could get an answer, Allura helped him up before helping Keith up and then dragging the two of them into building and into what looked like the security office. She located the first aid kit and pulled out two ice packs. Keith immediately activated his and placed it on the back of his head, Lance not sure where he should put his.

“I was trying to call you. Why didn’t you pick up?” Allura asked her talent.

“I was late. I was more pre-occupied with getting here then answering the phone.” Lance said shrugging.

“Well it seems that you trying to be a good idol failed seeing how the shoot was cancelled.” Keith said

“What?”

“That’s what I was trying to tell you last night before you hung up on me. Red here was going to be your partner for the photoshoot today.” Allura explained, Lance turning to look at the black haired human who pulled off his face mask.

This was…new. No one had seen Red as a full human. At most he was in his Galra form or in a muted form with his pale human skin but his hair was usually tinted purple and his Galra mark still present. Lance felt like he was being let into an exclusive secret.

“No point in calling me by my stage name seeing how I heard you yell his actual name.” Keith pointed out before turning to Lance. “I can keep a secret if you can?”

Lance glance at Allura who nodded. He was warned by her not to let anyone find anything about his actual life but if she thought it was ok, then he’d go for it.

“I’m Kurogane-McClain Lance.” Lance introduced

“Lance. I’m Kogane Keith. It’s a pleasure to fully meet you.” Keith bowed his head in greeting before wincing at his still throbbing head

“I’m so sorry. Does it hurt really badly?” Lance apologized again

“It’s fine. Even as a human I can take hard hits. Trust me, I train with full blooded Galra all the time.”

“Is Thace here?” Allura asked, “I wanted to talk to him about how they cancelled this at the last minute.”

“When he heard it was cancelled, he took off to go be with his husband. He finally has a free day so they decided to spend it together.”

“Oh. Well honestly, that’s what your day will come to, Lance. This was supposed to take most of the day so I ended up rescheduling your first radio appearance for your next free day.” Allura explained to Lance, who felt annoyed.

“Um, actually, if it’s ok with you, did you want to hang out?” Keith asked. Lance pointed at himself, making Keith nod. “I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted to get the chance to know you and since we didn’t get the chance here and we’re free, I thought…unless you’re busy?”

_‘Go back home to be stuck inside because of my grandmother or get the chance to really know my favourite singer? Well, as far as my grandmother is concerned, I’m with a friend and if I go home this early, she’ll think I got sick and I’m in no mood to be around Shiro right now.’_

“Nope I’m free, as long as I can pay for lunch. Least I can do after giving you a concussion.” Lance offered

“Oh that reminds me! Lance, your pay check was deposited into your bank account.” Allura said

Lance had a debit card, but of course he never used it since he never went anywhere but any spare change Shiro would let him keep when they’d go out usually went in there. He knew anything that was in his savings had to be a gigantic amount.

Lance pulled his phone from out of his vest pocket and pulled up his banking app to see Allura was right. ¥50,000, gez, this was his second pay check and it still surprised him how much he was paid to stand on a stage and sing.

“Awesome. So you’ll text me?” he asked Allura

“I will and next time, don’t hang up on me. Have a nice time Lance.” she said, waving him away

“Thanks. Shall we go?” he asked Keith, who nodded as he pulled his ice pack away to put his face mask back on.

To avoid any more accidents they took the very packed escalator up, feeling very packed together despite being on a step each.

“Why is everyone leaving?” Lance asked, leaning back to see how far away from the top they were

“The person who owns this studio? Fired everyone because someone leaked promo photos for one of their clients. Our photographer for the day was not happy.” Lance looked at Keith like he couldn’t be serious. “I’m dead serious. You missed out on the screaming fest our photographer had with the messenger of said news.”

“Ok.” Lance said, glad he was late. He got off the escalator and stepped off to the side with Keith. “So where are we going?”

“Have you ever been to the Skytree?” Lance shook his head. “The view is pretty worth it, but I’m kinda hungry now, so is it ok if we grab something to eat first?”

“Yeah of course. Where did you want to go?”

“I’m craving sushi. Besides, not a bad place to just sit and talk for ages.” Keith said, pointing to the direction they were going in. Lance followed along quietly. He still wasn’t used to making conversation with people. Allura was ok, he felt comfortable around her. Plaxum did most of the talking for him. Keith was a whole different story.

“You’re quieter than I thought.” Keith pointed out as they walked

“Oh, um.”

“You’re not nervous are you?”

Lance shook his head. “Not really.” He was the tiniest bit but it was mostly about keeping a filter on what he said. Part of him was still embarrassed that he crashed into Keith but somehow the urge to get to know him better was taking over the urge to fanboy. “I just don’t really know how to interact with people. I’ve been pretty sheltered my whole life.” He admitted

“Well don’t worry, I don’t bite.”

“Bet you wouldn’t mind.” Lance heard Pidge say from his bag. He didn’t even notice the Shinigami had turned into their plush form and stuck themselves in his bag, but he made quick work of shoving Pidge’s head back down in his bag. Her comments were not needed.

“You ok?” Keith asked, noticing Lance glaring at his bag

“Yep! Perfect! So where’s this restaurant?”

“It’s a kaiten sushi place not far from here and because a lot of idols seem to be down here for work, it’s a place we frequent a lot, so they keep quite if we go there without disguise. Plus any sensitive information we talk about there never gets out into the public. The owner is really focused on treating us like regular people. Plus their sushi is really good and decently priced.”

“Cool.”

Lance followed Keith all the way to the restaurant, where Lance immediately spotted two actors he knew. He was also sure they were sitting surrounded by regular citizens but they didn’t seem to really notice, pay attention or care.

“Hi, how many?” the host asked

“2 please.” Keith answered

“Table or by the bar?”

Keith looked over at Lance, who just shrugged. Any sushi he ever got was made fresh by Coran or Shiro snuck it in for him. “Table please.” Keith answered

They were lead to a booth and each took a side. Lance had never been to a sushi kaiten. They were right next to the two tiered conveyer belt of sushi that was going around the middle level holding the automated delivery service. The tablet to order sat above the table in its case near the spout for hot water and the containers for chopsticks.

“You look like you’re in awe.” Keith pointed out, taking his face mask off.

“I’ve never been to a kaiten sushi restaurant before. Usually the house keeper who lives at my house would make sushi fresh or my godfather would bring it from a restaurant.” Lance said taking off the fake glasses he’d been wearing

“Well it’s pretty straight forward. Order on the tablet if you don’t want to take any of the stuff on the belt. We can stay pretty much as long as we like so it’s a fairly good place to talk. Do you want me to order for you?” Keith offered

“Just one plate I guess. I’m not starving.”

“Is tuna-mayo ok?” Keith asked as he pulled up the menu

“Just tuna.”

Keith placed their order and started to fill their cups with green tea power when he noticed something sticking out of Lance’s bag.

“Is that a lion?”

Lance looked over to see Hunk’s ears poking out. He had a thought that Hunk had been spying and tried hiding just then. Those two couldn’t keep their noses out of anything.

“Um yeah.” Lance pulled Hunk out, feeling him tense in his hands. “He’s one of my good luck charms. I had him with me at my audition and against all odds I won.”

“Oh I know. Ezor’s been signed by Empire Records so when she was complaining about the guy that beat her, I told her she obviously lost because he was a better singer.”

“Ezor? Was that the girl’s name?” Lance asked

Keith nodded, “yeah, she friends with a few of the other talents that are signed on. She sure knows how to complain though. Our onsite producer told her that she obviously lost because you were a better singer but she still wouldn’t listen.”

“Oh, sorry.” Lance said feeling a bit guilty

“Don’t apologize please. You won because they saw something she couldn’t give them and it paid off because you’re really amazing to listen to.”

Lance felt his face getting red. “Thanks. It feels kinda good to know my favourite idol likes my music.”

“I really can’t be your _favourite_ idol.” Keith said as Lance put Hunk back in his bag

“But you are! I mean, when I first heard your song I was having really bad day and kinda feeling at my lowest and then your voice came on the radio and it started making me feel a lot better. Then I looked for more of your music and whenever I wasn’t feeling the best or I needed something to distract me, I would listen to your music. It’s always been a big help to me, so…thank you.”

Keith blinked. He’d been sent letters by people who had been touched by his music and by people who came to signing events. He never heard someone who worked at the same thing as he did say what Lance did. It made him feel a bit special.

“You’re welcome. But hey, your music will be doing the same thing for other people.”

“I guess.” Lance said, remembering that the one person he wanted to listen to his song hadn’t.

“Is something wrong?” Keith asked, seeing Lance looking a bit disheartened

“It’s just…” Lance trailed off, not sure if he wanted to continue. Granted he complained about it to Hunk and Pidge, but he wanted someone who wasn’t bias to give their opinion. Interrupted by their food arriving, Lance waited until their plates sat in front of them and Keith sent the delivery tray back before continuing. “The one person I want to listen to my song won’t and I got mad at him because every time I try getting him to listen, he makes up an excuse.”

“Boyfriend?”

Lance shook his head. “God no. I’ll admit he’s good looking, but he’s also the closest thing I’ve got to a dad.”

“Oh. Opps.”

Lance shook his head as he dipped his sushi in soy sauce. “No it’s fine. It’s just…the only blood family I have left doesn’t really support my dreams of being a singer. Seriously, she hates music and the one time my song happened to turn on and she heard it, she told me to turn it off. My godfather does support me but still won’t listen to the song. He keeps saying, ‘oh, I’m an old guy’.”

“Would he have a reason for not listening to it?”

Lance shrugged. “I mean, I know he was in a band with my parents. He always tells me how they were a big help in him getting to live his dream and how they became his family.”

“I take it your family passed away then?”

“Yeah. Dad from trying to get my mom to the hospital and mom from giving birth to me. They had plans for me since my mom was pretty weak growing up but I decided to come way early. I used to feel kinda guilty about them dying, but then I hear my godfather telling me about how excited they were to have me and how they couldn’t wait to raise me around music because I couldn’t keep still even before I was born. I guess hearing him telling me my song is good, would almost be like hearing my parents tell me my song is good.”

“I’m sure he wants to tell you that, but…how important was music to him?” Keith asked, putting his chopsticks down

“Pretty important I guess. Why?”

“I think if it meant that much to him that music in general reminds him of your parents. He probably avoids so he doesn’t have to think about them.” Lance didn’t think of that. Shiro was always so supportive of his dreams to be a singer that Lance never thought music would remind him of Lance’s parents. “That’s not to say that he isn’t supportive of you. I just think you should probably explain to him why the song means so much. I’m more than sure he’d be willing to listen to it then.”

“Yeah. Your right. I never thought of it like that.”

“It’s ok. I get wanting someone important to like your music.” It seemed like Keith’s turn to get wistful. “I guess since you told me your story, its only right I tell you mine.”

“Only if you want to. I never really told anyone what I told you and that’s only because my story makes more sense if you understand.” Lance said, completely serious. He didn’t want to force Keith

“No, I mean, it’s not a huge secret. Just kinda not talked about because I almost never bring it up. I’d like you to know. So I guess in my case of wanting someone to like my music would be my mom. You’ve seen my Galra mark right?” Lance nodded. “She my Galra half. That mark and my blade sometimes feels like the only things I have of hers. My mom is part of the Blade of Mamora and works in their bodyguard division. She was always working so it was just me and my dad back in Korea until his job got him to move here to Japan. I didn’t mind, I didn’t really make a lot of friends so moving didn’t bother me. Plus Thace was here.”

“That’s right. He’s your manager and godfather right?” Lance remembered reading about that in an interview. He didn’t realise the former rebel group turned security that Keith happen to be a part of had so many connections back to the singer

“Yeah. He’s also a member of the Blade, but he’s more off duty unless called in. So is his husband. Anyway, while I was here and my dad was busy with work, my mom never really called in unless my dad called her first. Then my dad started getting sick and my mom still didn’t show up. It wasn’t something that could be cured easily and it was getting worse. After he passed away, I should have gone to my mom but whatever mission she was on was too important so I was put under the guardianship of Thace. She never really showed up except for the funeral. I barely saw her after that and I was pretty much under the guardianship of Thace and because he was in the music business and it was something I wanted to do since I was a kid, he became my manager after I was signed to Empire Records. Even though part of me is furious with my mom for pretty much abandoning me, I always send her a copy of whatever single or album I release.”

“That’s kinda messed up.” Lance said. “I mean, just, I know we were raised differently but I thought she’d at least care to check on you when you were a kid. When I lived in America most of my childhood before my grandmother was able to get me down here, she’d send letters to check on me. Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

Keith shook his head, “its ok. Trust me, Thace was pretty upset with my mom as well. I still think what she did wasn’t right but there’s a part of me that’s still so despite for her to tell me I did good. Things have been awkward between us so I’m not gonna judge you for what you think about her.”

“Still though.”

“Forget about it. Trust me. You never mentioned it in your interview, but when were you born?”

Lance could tell Keith really didn’t want to talk about his mom anymore so he took the hint. “July 28 X03.”

“X03? Wouldn’t that make you 16?”

_‘Fuck, I did it again!’_ Lance thought. “X98. Sorry, that’s what I meant.”

“Big difference in year to get mixed up.” Keith pointed out looking confused.

“Y-yeah, my mistake.” Lance got out, hoping Keith wouldn’t ask more questions. “Do they have shrimp tempura sushi here? The usual place my godfather goes does.”

“Um, yeah. I think.”

Lance let out a silent sigh of relief as Keith got distracted by searching for Lance’s next dish, even though he wasn’t done with his current one, but that was fine. Anything that allowed him not to focus on the mistake. Lance needed to keep a lid on his age. If he kept messing up, someone would be bound to notice. But minus the slip up on his age and the talks about their family lives, this was going better than Lance thought and it made him feel he could actually do this.

* * *

 

“What person orders cake at a sushi restaurant?” Keith asked as he and Lance left, full of cheap but good sushi.

“This person. You really didn’t have to only get 6 plates. I’ve seen my godfather devour the equivalent of 10.” Lance said, putting his glasses back on, Keith following with his face mask.

“If I ate anymore, I’d be begging to go home and sleep with Snap.”

“Snap?” Lance asked

“My cat.”

“I didn’t know you had a cat!” Lance said

“Technically she’s only been mine for about 2 years. She was an ally cat who lived near my building. I let her in when it was pouring and she’d come and go and then she just never left.”

“What kind of cat?” Lance asked interested. Lance loved cats. Unfortunately, she grandmother was allergic and Lance had never been gladder that cat hair never trigged any sort of coughing fit from him.

“British long hair. You can probably imagine how matted her hair was when she first came inside.” Keith said, seeing the surprise on Lance’s face

“Yeah. Gez, you don’t usually see a ton of long hairs as strays.”

“She’s a handful but she’s the best.”

“Why Snap?” Lance asked

“She has red fur and even though I helped her, she was still kinda hissy with me so she was kinda like a ginger snap. Ginger didn’t suit her personality so I went with Snap.” Keith pulled out his phone and hit the lock button to open the lock screen and showed Lance the picture of Snap curled up asleep.

“Aww,” Lance said, as he moved closer to see the picture better. “She’s so cute!”

“Trust me. After dealing with people at my record company, she’s the best thing to go home to. So ready to go to Tokyo Skytree?”

“Kinda? Is there an arcade near there?”

“A few. Why?”

“I went to one when I was trying to write my song and I’ve been craving to go back to one for a while. Besides, I’m in the mood to not go home just yet.” Lance said

Raising an eyebrow Keith nodded, “alright. I mean, if we at least get there for sunset, the view would be amazing. To the train station.”

Conversation flowed as they walked to the station and even as waited for the train to arrive at the station. It wasn’t long before they got to an arcade and Lance was dragging Keith to the one shooting game Lance was aceing at last time he was at the arcade.

“Isn’t this one of the new arcade games?” Keith asked watching Lance take out his wallet and open the attached yen pouch. “I thought I heard that a lot of people couldn’t get passed like level 3 on this.”

“Did they? I got to level 13.” Lance said

“Wait, what?”

Keith didn’t get an answer as the coins were put in and Lance started. It was a zombie survival game mixed with fantasy a bit. The gun had been blessed by a white which so simple bullets could defeat large enemies. You had to reload quickly because the higher the level, the quicker the droves came. Keith watched in stunned silence as Lance hit every target, reloaded and attacked again in quick succession. They had gained a bit of a crowd as Lance passed level 10 and was nearing the level 15 boss. His health finally dwindled at level 24, painting a bloody ‘Game Over’ on the screen.

“Dang it! I was so close.” Lance said, not seeming to notice the crowd he had gained. “Just a bit more health and I could have beaten that drove.” He said as he picked up his bag and turned to Keith, finally noticing the crowd. “Oh, uh…”

“Oh my god!”

“How did they do that?”

“I’ve never seen them before, how did they get so far?”

“Doesn’t he look kinda familiar?”

At that, Keith grabbed Lance’s hand and pulled him away and into a nearby Purikura booth.

“How did you do that?” Keith asked

Lance shrugged, “I don’t usually miss a target. If you think that was impressive, you should see me on the baseball field. I’ve gotten yelled at by the opposing team way too many times.”

“That was, insanely impressive and I can throw a dagger and a sword across the room with perfect precision.” Keith said

“Bet I could beat you if it came to it.” Lance teased

“Yeah right.”

“Since we’re in here.” Lance started pointing at the screen the colourful screen.

“Oh, no.” Keith said, shaking his head

“Why not?” Lance whined

“These things enhance your eyes. I’m half Galra. My eyes are as big as they can be.”

“Oh come on Keith, pretty please?” Lance asked, giving him his puppy eyes he’d use on Shiro

Just like Shiro, Keith folded like wet paper, “alright fine.”

“Yay! You have to go pay for it, because I’m sure those people are still looking for me.”

Keith sighed like it was the biggest effort in the world but he did want Lance asked. He looked like he was pouty throughout the pictures but he let Lance put him in any pose he wanted.

“See, the eyes don’t look that bad, I could have made them way bigger.” Lance pointed out as the editing page came up.

“I look like I did when I was a kid and I was constantly in my Galra form. My eyes were huge.”

“Did you scare your dad if you went crawling around at night?” Lance asked as he drew cat ears on Keith’s head.

“More times than I can count.”

Pictures edited and printed, Lance dragged Keith over to a Dance Dance Extreme Revolution station.

“How good are you at dancing?” Keith asked, taking Lance’s bag as Lance stepped up on the multi coloured plate

“Um, I’m not really sure. I’m really flexible though.” Lance said, as he put in the yen into the machine and started going through the songs. “ _Myself_ only really calls for me to be standing there. Oh, I love this song!” Lance said

“Panty and Stocking Theme Song Remix? Isn’t that anime like, really old? Like 3 remakes old?”

“And yet, it’s still amazing.” Lance said, holding on to the bar as the music started and the arrows started to fill the screen.

Keith was impressed with the amount of excellents and perfects he was getting. Lance obviously would do well at dancing if he was that good at moving his feet to get combos

“A-, not bad.” Keith complimented

“Thanks. This is actually the first time I’ve done it on this difficulty. I usually do it at least one down. Did you want to try?”

Keith shook his head. “I was in dance rehearsal all day yesterday. I’m fine with no dancing. Were you ready to go?”

Lance nodded. As short as the trip was, he got his fill on arcade games for the afternoon, plus he didn’t want the sunset Keith promised. He did stop Keith at a capsule machine when he spotted ones that held hoods for cats. It was also Star Wars themed.

“I want them all.” Keith said, trying to think about how pissed Snap would be at him for attempting to put a hood on her. It would be so worth it though. He ended up getting a Ewok.

* * *

 

Lance knew that Tokyo Skytree was tall, but the view he got was better than anything he ever saw. He guessed it was similar to what Hunk and Pidge would see when they went flying over the city. They got there as sunset started, which surprised Lance because it showed just how much time he’d spent with Keith. It hadn’t felt very long. Lance couldn’t really remember anyone else other than Akira who could make Lance feel like time hadn’t passed.

“Here you go.” Keith came back with promised drinks in hand. “Perfect thing to have with the takiyaki right?”

On their way over, Lance noticed that the store he and Shiro frequented to get takiyaki had a location near the Skytree and Lance offered to get him and Keith some to have with the view. Keith agreed if only he could get them drinks.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been this high up.” Lance said taking the box that Hunk pushed up from his bag, who looked like he was dying to eat some, but he and Pidge would have to wait till later to eat the mini ones Lance got them. “I mean, I guess being on the plane from California to here counts as high.”

“That’s right. I almost forgot you mentioned you were in the States.” Keith said opening the box and pulling the one in the bag out.

“Yep, born in the states and grew up there until my grandmother was able to get me down here.”

“So, wouldn’t that mean you grew up in the system?”

Lance hummed because it was kinda true. “My grandmother was traveling at the time and couldn’t come get me so she made arrangements for me to go to a foster home. That’s where I grew up until she brought me here.”

Keith nodded, taking in the information. “So obviously half Japanese, with Kurogane. McClain would be…?”

“Cuban if you can believe it. My dad was born and grew up there.”

“Wow, half Cuban and Japanese and grew up in America.”

“Almost like you, half Galra and grew up in Korea.” Lance pointed out.

“Yeah, but something tells me your life was way less insane than mine.”

Lance didn’t answer that statement. Instead he asked a question. “Why did you do the Trails of Mamora? I mean, from what I know, back when it was a secret rebel group against the Galra Empire, you had to go through a trail in order to become a member. Nowadays, members are recommended and screened. I thought the trails only happened today for blood members.”

“That’s because I am a blood member, from my mom. Her however many great grandmother was a member and then my mom went through the trails. When I wanted answers for why she had kinda disappeared from my life, when I was 15, I convinced Thace to take me to the main headquarters where I thought she’d be. They didn’t believe I was her son even though I had her blade, the only thing she ever gifted me, even though it was my dad who gave it to me. So I went through the trails and got the end and passed but found out she wasn’t even there. She was still on whatever mission. I got annoyed and didn’t want to contact her. Now I’m considered a member, off-duty, and the youngest to boot.” Keith explained

Lance almost chocked on his chocolate takiyaki, “youngest? Seriously?”

Keith shrugged, “I mean, I’m only 19. Most members are at least in their mid-20s at the youngest.”

“Gez and you were 15 when you did this?” Keith shrugged again, obviously not seeing the problem. “You’re not normal.”

“Normal’s boring. Point, you don’t like classic takiyaki, case, you are not normal.”

“Excuse me for not liking red beans. They taste gross.”

“I rest my case.”

Lance glared at Keith who ignored the look he got, leaving Lance to huff in annoyance.

“But did you enjoy today?” Keith asked

Lance blinked at the question. Honestly, he did. He had been a bit scared that he’d be too nervous around Keith because of how much he admired his music, but he hadn’t been. They had been able to bond and everything and Lance felt closer to Keith.

“I did enjoy myself. Thanks for inviting me out.”

“No problem. I’m glad you had fun. Can we exchange numbers or at least LINE? It’d be nice to keep in contact.”

Lance nodded and pulled out his phone. They exchanged numbers and added each other to their LINE accounts. As they watched the sun go down, Lance was sure this friendship would be something he treasured. He could trust Keith and he was glad to have him in his corner.

* * *

 

** She’s pissed, but it’s worth it **

That was the caption for Keith’s Instagram picture for Snap with her Ewok hood on, glaring at the camera, or at the very least, the person behind the camera. He had sent Lance a copy of the photo before he posted it. It was finally the weekday again and Lance was taking Keith’s advice to actually talk to Shiro about listening to his song. He stood in the lobby for the floor Shiro worked at, waiting for the nurse on duty to come back to the desk so he could find out if Shiro was free.

“Lance.” looking up from his phone, Lance waved at the tall Galran doctor.

“Hi Ulaz.”

“What are you doing here? Did you have a check-up?” he asked approaching his coluge’s charge

“No, just wanted to come see Shiro. Is he busy?”

“Well, actually, he’s not here.”

“Huh, what do you mean?” Lance asked

“He was supposed to go to a presentation today but asked me to go instead because he said he had to go visit family.”

“Family? But…Shiro’s parents died when he was a teenager. He told me.”

“Well, he said if he needed to be found, he’d be at Crescent Hill Cemetery.” Ulaz said

“Crescent Hill?”

“Do you know where it is?”

“Kinda. My parents’ ashes are buried there.”


	9. The Prince's Summer Start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm dying with my thesis so I might post another chapter tonight if I don't drown in my thesis. [This](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4MFPfS91qg) is the song The Rebels sing. I don't care that it's from an all girl group, when I was decideding songs, I like these for them so there you go. And if you want to listen to it while glancing at the lyrics, [here's](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SOxf4gJcOE) Lance's song.

Lance walked up the hill to Crescent Hill Cemetery, his feet already retracing the steps to his parent’s grave. He’d only been here a few times. Before they had been cremated in America after his grandmother had dealt with the funeral things from overseas and it stayed in its urn on the mantel of his foster home until he moved down to Japan and it was buried at Crescent Hill.

“Why are we here?” Pidge asked, as she and Hunk floated behind Lance.

“My parent’s ashes are buried here. To be honest, I only ever remember seeing Shiro here once.” Lance said spotting a familiar looking car. Lance looked up on the hillside that held all the graves for a familiar figure and spotted him. Lance ran up the steps and hid behind a nearby tree to watch Shiro take a deep breath.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been here in so long. Part of me almost can’t believe it’s been almost 17 years since you both died. Your son is growing up well, though it pains me that I can’t cure his cancer as easily as I hope. Surgery would be an easy fix but he’s always told me he’s more afraid of never being able to sing again than he was dying.” Shiro let out a little laugh. “He’s fearless honestly. Just like you were Seb. He looks so much like you but his eyes are all Mio’s. I spent most of my life pleasing everyone else and then you came along and invited me to play with you. I only thought it would be a break between studying but instead you made me realise how much I loved music. I couldn’t be more thankful that the two of you pushed me to do music.

“Whenever I look at Lance, I can see the two of you. It’s painful honestly. Lance is looking towards his future and part of me feels scared that I can’t promise him that future. He wants to be a singer, just like his parents. After I lost everyone, I said I wouldn’t get involved in music again because of all the memories it held for me but then this little boy with those familiar bright blue eyes told me that when I made him better, he was going to be a singer. While I’m scared, I won’t stop until I can make sure he stays alive and if I can manage to find a way to help him with his dream as well then I know I would have proved you guys right when you said I’d be the most giving godfather. I want to give him his dream, even if part of me hurts; I want to hear him singing his first song. I hope that you can give me the strength to do just that and that you’ll continue to watch over him.”

Lance watched Shiro speak to his parents’ grave as he remembered all the times he tried getting Shiro to listen to his song. Keith was right. Shiro was hurting and Lance didn’t even think to notice. He never thought that him just talking about his dreams would cause Shiro to think about his parents. He didn’t know the whole story of Shiro and his parents in the band, but he knew that they were all more than just a band. They were a family. And they were all gone, except for Lance, the only reminder of them. While his grandmother made it very clear how she felt music and shut down Lance every time, Shiro sat there and listened to Lance’s dreams, even if it held painful memories, always encouraging him. As Shiro stood up and started to walk in his direction, Lance moved from behind the tree and ran into Shiro’s chest, wrapping his arms around his neck.

Shiro stopped, his arm going around Lance’s back. “Lance? What are you doing here?”

“I realise I never tell you thank you enough for listening to me talk about music all the time and not even thinking about how much it hurts.”

“You heard me?” Lance nodded against Shiro’s chest. Dropping the wooden pail he had been carrying in his other hand, Shiro wrapped both around Lance’s back. “Yes it hurts because I remember your parents, but I also remember how they were so excited to raise their child around music. You’re their child and you want to be a singer. I’m not going to let my pains keep me from supporting you. Besides, I think you thank me enough.”

“Well I’ll just thank you more then.” Lance said, close to tears

Shiro couldn’t help but laugh a bit. “Alright then. If that’s what you want. How’d you find out where I was anyway?”

“Ulaz told me when I came to see you at the hospital. Sorry I just came and snooped.”

“You’re ok. I was worried with how annoyed you seemed at me, but I guess it was this music thing that pushed me to think about how it’s going to be in my life again so I can’t escape it.” Shiro pulled away and looked down at Lance, “music is going to be part of your life even more now that your job is as close as you can get to it, so I’m going to support you and make sure I can help you get to your dream ok?” Lance nodded. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

“Oh, um, can you actually wait for me by the car. I kinda wanna…” Lance trailed off but Shiro seemed to understand.

“Sure. I have to drop the pail back off with the cemetery guard. I’ll be in the car when you’re done.”

Lance nodded and waited for Shiro to go down the stairs before taking a deep breath and walking to his parents’ grave. Shiro had left flowers and incense for them, so Lance pulled something out of his bag, that he wished he could hand over in reality, resting it between the flowers.

“Hi mom, hi dad. It’s me Lance. I’m sorry I don’t come a visit as often. I’m just so used to thinking that you’re watching over me from your perch on the mantel. But it’s not like that anymore but I still feel like you’re watching over me and I guess that’s because I have Shiro. I don’t know the whole story of how you and Shiro met, but thank you for bring Shiro into your life. Grandmother isn’t always the most supportive but Shiro is the closest thing to a parent that I’ve had. My foster mom was great and all and grandmother does care, but Shiro? I feel so lucky to have him in my life. He doesn’t know that I’ve debuted and the same song I’ve been trying to get him to listen to is my debut song. I feel like if he hears it and likes it, it’s the closest I’d get to hearing you say you like it. So I hope you keep an ear out and that you do like it. I’m living my dream as a singer and you should know that despite everything, your kid grew up loving music, just as much as you thought I would. I love you two and I’ll be thinking of you as I push forward.”

With that, Lance left his CD with the flowers and went to meet Shiro. When he opened the door to the car, familiar lyrics were pouring from the car speakers.

_Doushite konna ni suki nan darou_  
Kimi no koe kanshii hodo hibiiteru yo  
Ima made nani ga sasae datta ka  
Tooku hanarete wakatta yo

Shiro was reading the lyrics printed on the back of the album cover when he looked over at Lance. “You getting in?”

“Uh yeah.” Lance climbed in and when he shut the door turned to Shiro, “I’ve been trying to get you to listen to this for 2 weeks.”

“Well since I’m pushing past my pain and such, I thought I should at least see what all the fuss is about. He’s really good. I understand why you like his song. The lyrics are very real if that makes any sense.”

“So….you like it?”

Shiro nodded, “I love it actually. I think it’s really good.”

“Good. Awesome. I’m glad you like it.” Lance said, the smile on his face very close to almost hiding his tears. He was gonna be a mess when he got home. “So home?”

“Yes sir.”

* * *

 

** So have you heard the rumours about the paparazzi photographer? **

_ Paparazzi photographer? _

_ No _

“Isamu,” Lance looked away from his phone from where he’d been texting Keith to the radio host who was standing in the door of the studio, “we’re ready for you.”

“Coming.” He said, standing up and quickly texting Keith that he was going on before having to silence his phone.

“Nervous for your first radio interview?” the host asked, gesturing to Lance’s seat in front of his mic.

“A bit. Kinda glad I said no to performing live.” Lance replied, looking at window that different fans seemed to have their faces plastered up close.

“Don’t worry about them. There’s security out there to make sure they don’t get rowdy. Go ahead and put your headphones on, we’ll be off break soon. Just take a deep breath.”

“This doesn’t get easier does it?”  It felt like Lance was always getting that advice.

“You’d be surprised with all the different stars I’ve met who still get nervous at this.” with that and a signal from the sound engineer, the red ‘Live’ sign turned on. “Welcome back everyone to 98.3 Stars. It’s your host Tai and I’m here with a very special guest. He only debuted almost a month ago now and his song his still climbing the charts, currently at number 12 right now, which is pretty amazing. Please help me welcome, Isamu, Prince of Altea.” Tai said, pressing the applause sound button.

“Hi, I’m Isamu, Prince of Altea.” Lance introduced himself

“So how are you?”

“I’m good. Happy you’re having me.”

“So tell me. Your song is produced by Kolivan correct? Everyone’s favourite Galra producer.”

“It is.”

“But we heard that it wasn’t written by him like it usually is.”

Lance nodded, “correct. I got the chance to write my own song because I wasn’t the biggest fan of his. Thankfully, I proved to him that I could do it and he decided to go with my song instead. It was a rush to get everything done though. We had like, a week and a half to finish everything.”

“But it worked, because here you are! So how about instead of me asking all the questions, we read some of the questions sent in?”

“Sure.”

“Alright everyone, send in all your questions to our twitter with the hashtag #AskStarsIsamu. We’ve got a few already. From @heiralchimesct, what kind of artist do you want to be?”

“Oh well,” Lance trailed off slightly as he looked at all the faces looking at him, “for now I just want to keep singing and sending my feelings out.”

“Send out your feelings huh? Anyone special?”

“Um,” Lance looked over to where he could see Allura standing behind the sound engineer, where she made an ‘X’ with her fingers, “I’m afraid that’s a secret.”

“A secret huh? Any chance we can find out your real name then, or is it actually Isamu?”

“That’s a secret too.”

“Is everything a secret?” Tai asked

“I’m afraid this prince doesn’t have loose lips.” Lance said, finally getting Tai off the invasive questions. The Q and A lasted for a while, letting Lance feel really comfortable and used to everything.

“Alright, so I’m afraid you’re leaving us now.” Tai said

“Yes, I’m sorry but thank you for having me. It was a ton of fun.”

“Before you leave, think you can introduce the next song for us? It’s one you should know very well.”

“Sure. As a parting gift from your prince, here is my song _Myself.”_ As the first bars started, the red light turned off and Lance was able to take his headphones off. They were really uncomfortable against pointed Altean ears. “Thank you for having me.”

“Thank you so much for coming. Sorry about the questions, but hoped I’d be the one to get answers.”

“Its ok.” not really, but it was the life of an idol.

He met Allura outside after thanking the sound engineers before he followed her out the studio waving to the fans as they headed to the next-door garage.

“How do you feel?” Allura asked as she unlocked the doors to her car

“That was different. All the face pressed against the window was a bit off putting, but I guess if I get screaming fans, I’ll have to get used to it.” Lance said, pulling his bag from under his seat per Allura’s suggestion when he found out they didn’t really like big bags in the studio. Hunk had stayed in the car to take a nap and seemed to be waking up now that Lance was moving his bed.

“It’s strange defiantly, but you did really well. Did you want to grab a bite to eat before I drop you off at the station?”

Slightly distracted by his phone, Lance didn’t answer until he was poked. “What?”

“Food? Hungry?”

“Oh actually I have finals to study for, so if we could swing through a drive through?” anything to avoid Coran’s brain focusing meals that tasted horrible.

“Sure. Now please, respond to Keith. I’m sure he was dying by the phone.” Allura teased

“It’s not like that.” Lance said as he brought up his LINE account to continue talking to Keith

“Sure.” Allura said, obviously not believing him

_ Sorry, I was doing my first radio show. _

** I heard. Hence what I was telling you about the photographer. He’s been known to go digging for answers about different stars, basically airing out everything about them. **

_ Ok? _

** Lance, you literally just said on air how almost everything about you is a secret. Add on the fact that you’re a new star, you could be a target. One of the signed talents here at Empire got their stuff aired and Empire is in the process of terminating their contract so they won’t be associated with them. **

“Have you heard about this photographer who’s been I guess, stalking different stars to get info about them?” Lance asked, still surprised

“Yes, why? How did you hear about that?”

“Keith, which reminds me.”

_ How come you haven’t been a target? _

** Lance I’m a member of the Blade of Mamora. If he even tries to do anything, he’d be very acquainted with my blade. Let’s also add that Thace is also a member and everyone knows that. **

_ Allura’s scary _

** Compared to you, anyone is **

_ Hey! _

**Just saying,** Keith texted with a shrug sticker, leaving Lance pouting.

“Do you think I’m scary?” Allura looked at him like he was joking. “Never mind. Can we do something so I don’t get stalked?”

“Ask Keith to hang out publicly? No one will mess with you if you if they know you’ve befriended a member of the Blade.”

She had a point. Lance immediately texted Keith.

_ I’ll forgive you for that not scary comment if you be my bodyguard against the photographer _

** Do you have to do anything now? **

_ Study for finals, but I’m not expected home for a while _

** Come see me at the shopping centre at Akihabara station **

“Allura, any chance you can drop me off at the Akihabara station or a station nearby so I can get there? Keith’s offered to be my bodyguard.”

“And not a moment too soon. Don’t look behind you but we’re being followed.” Allura said as she looked at the rear-view mirror.

“What?”

“He’s moves quick. It’s the photographer I was telling you about.” Allura said as she speed up

“What?!” Lance wanted to look behind him but Allura said not to. He also noticed Hunk climbing out of the bag and into his lap, glad Allura was too busy trying to lose the guy to notice the yellow lion plush climbing up his leg.

“He won’t give up.” Allura complained as she started moving to more residential areas.

“Don’t worry, I got him.” he heard Hunk say. The car passed over a train track on the road and as soon as they passed over onto the other side, Hunk snapped his fingers, making the barriers come down, blocking anyone – or in their case their stalking photographer – from following them.

Allura had turned onto another street before slowing down and looking behind her confused. “Did the warning bells go off before the barriers went down?”

Lance knew they hadn’t. The bells were loud, really loud and you’d be able to see the shield charging up from the barriers that had helped stop people from trying to jump over the barrier to commit suicide.

“Yeah, I guess you were so focused you didn’t see.” Lance said

Allura still looked confused, like she didn’t understand why she didn’t notice but she shrugged her shoulders and started driving again. “I want you to be careful. Make sure you call me once you meet up with Keith ok?”

“I will don’t worry.” Lance reassured, looking down at Hunk who sat innocently on his lap. Keith wouldn’t be the only one who helped him get the photographer to leave him alone.

He was dropped off at the train station and was able to quickly catch the train to Akihabara. They train was packed, so Lance was leaning against one of the doors, his attention on his phone when he heard Hunk getting his attention.

“We’ve got company. Pull your camera up and I’ll point him out.”

Lance did as he was told, switching his camera from pointing to the floor to his face. He lifted it up, pretending to use it as a mirror to fix his bangs tilting it until Hunk told him to stop. The photographer was a Mu, a tall armadillo looking alien. Coran was good friends with one but while Kythylian had blue scales, this Mu had green ones and the clothes he wore matched them. Lance could see him looking over his shoulder every now and then in Lance’s direction and when he thought he was spotted, he was quick to turn around. Lance pulled up his messages with Keith.

_ The guy was following me and Allura when we left the station and I think he found me on the train _

** I’m meeting you when you get off the train. How packed is it? **

_ Packed but I was still able to spot him. What do I do? _

** Don’t panic ok? When the train stops at your stop, get off and I’ll be at the foot of the stairs to get upstairs. I’m wearing a red jacket and the black face mask I had on when we went out last time. **

_ Ok. I’ll look out for you. _

Lance was nervous. He’d only been joking a bit before but now that he actually had a reason to worry. He wasn’t sure how much Keith and Hunk could protect him. He knew if he was careful he’d be fine, but if this guy found out about him, that he was actually a 16 year old human and not the 19 year old Altean everyone thought he was, losing his contract and the way to get to Akira was the least of his problems. His life would be ruined and that was if his grandmother didn’t kill him first. He took a deep breath. He had to trust the two and be able to help himself.

When the train neared the station, Lance joined the throng of people who were ready to exit the train. Lance could spot the Mu photographer in his own throng from where he was. He just had to find Keith, and he’d be fine. He left with the group of people when the doors opened and as they approached the stairs, Lance looked for Keith. Then he spotted him. His purple tinted hair was pulled into a ponytail and he could see Keith’s mark from where it poked out of his face mask. Keith seemed to see him at the same time, as he moved forward until he was close enough to Lance to grab his hand and pull him forward and up the stairs. They reached the escalators which would take them to the station’s shopping centre and stepped on, Keith finally facing Lance.

“How are you feeling?”

“A bit nervous. I think half the reason I agreed to coming was as a way to get out of studying but then he started following us. We managed to lose him when we passed over train tracks on the road and the barriers went down but I guess he caught up with me.”

“Can you point him out for me? Don’t turn around.” Keith instructed when Lance meant to turn his head. “Tell me what he looks like.”

Lance guess that it was why Keith was facing him and at least two steps above him to look over his head. “Mu alien, green scales, similar coloured clothes.”

“I see him. He’s walking over to the escalator now.” Lance watched Keith pull something off his belt. It was a sheathed dagger but Lance learned enough about Galran history to guess what it was. There was a strip of cloth covering something but Keith unravelled it to reveal the mark of the Blade of Mamora. “If we’re lucky, when he sees the mark he’ll back off.”

“And if he doesn’t?” Lance asked as Keith attached the dagger back onto his belt

“Well I’ll be happy to show him why I’m the youngest member of the Blade of Mamora.” Keith said

“Remind me not to make you mad.”

“I’ll give you fair warning. Come on.” Lance followed Keith up the last set of steps and into the shopping centre where the many shops were. “Let’s not give him any indication we know he’s here. Where do we go first?”

“Well, I actually do need to get a pair of earbuds because my headphones are usually pretty noticeable.” Lance said

“Alright then, let’s go.”

Lance kept close to Keith, who would usually be on the side where most people would come and approach him, keeping his back to them so his dagger could be clearly seen. Lance picked up a pair of paint splattered earbuds when he spotted green scales over Keith’s shoulder.

“I think he found us.”

Keith used his own phone’s camera to take a look. “He sees me and judging from that unsure look on his face he sees my dagger but…he hasn’t moved. I don’t think he’s backing down. Come on; let’s move to the back of the store.” Lance followed and Keith made him stay in a corner in the back of the store. “I’ll have to go deal with him myself. Stay here and don’t move.”

Lance watched Keith disappear and even only after moments gone, he felt like it was ages.

“I’m worried.”

“Why?” Hunk asked from his bag.

“It’s just that, I feel like I can’t do anything. What if this guy doesn’t back down even when facing Keith?”

“Then he’s an idiot.” Hunk pointed out

“I’m being serious.”

“Hey, Keith isn’t the only person defending you. I’ll back him up if the guy slips through. In fact, I have a bit of an idea but it would only work if that photographer finds you.”

“Why do I get the feeling that if I let you and Keith to deal with this, you’d annihilate the guy?”

“You say that like it’s a problem.” Hunk said

Lance stared down at the yellow lion. “Ok you and Pidge spend way too much time together.”

“You’d be surprised how many good ideas she can actually come up with when she doesn’t go acting impulsively.”

“Right. Guess I’ll have to wait to see that.” Lance could see scaled ears from his corner and it was taking everything in him not to crouch down.

“Look it’s the singer Red!” Lance could tell the shout came from around the area those ears were at.

“Did he?” Hunk started

“He recognised Keith and pointed him out. He has to know Keith was looking after me.”

“Guess that mark and the blade gave him away. Now what do we do?”

Lance’s phone rang and he quickly answered, but not before telling Hunk to keep an eye out for him. “Keith?”

_“I’m running from fans so you’ve one of two options, duck out of that store when he’s not looking and go into the first store you see that’s packed enough where he’d cause a commotion or get back to the trains and on one before he can follow. I’m gonna hope like hell I can hide and make this stupid mark go away so they can’t tell it’s me! Lance, be careful! I’ll stay here if you don’t contact me ok?”_

“Ok. Stay safe.” Lance wished good luck, moving when Hunk told him too, able to avoid the Mu photographer, who was obviously trying to look for him

“Lance, come on. I have an idea.” Hunk said directing Lance out of the shop and into the nearest bathroom.

“Exactly what do you have planned?” Lance asked, poking around to make sure no one was in there with him.

“It’s a bit Pidge worthy but if all goes well, that guy will be leaving town. It’d be even better if he bumps into Keith on his way out.”

“You and Pidge really do spend too much time together. Alright, let’s hear it.” Lance said turning to Hunk, not feeling very confident with that smile on Hunk’s face.

While they discussed plans, the photographer was looking for the white haired teen, fuming that he’d gotten away. He took a huge risk deciding to go up against a member of the Blade of Mamora and the youngest member to boot. He knew it would come to bite him in the ass but he had a job to do. He’d find out every bit of information on that kid, even if he had to ring it out of him. He looked around, trying to think of where he could of disappeared too when he passed the hallway to the bathrooms and saw something from the corner of his eye. The men’s bathroom had a strange light coming from it and his curiosity got the better of him. The light seemed to have disappeared by the time he got closer and when he walked in, he found Lance, slouched against the wall, looking unconscious.

“Well, well, well, passed out in a train station bathroom? What have you been on kid?” pulling the camera out from his large pocket, he held it up to take a picture but stopped when Lance’s head rose showing dark red eyes and his hair lifting as it defied gravity.

**“You just can’t help yourself can you?”** the voice seemed to come from Lance but his mouth hadn’t moved as he blankly stared at the photographer. **“You see a chance and instead of checking to see if their ok, you’d rather exploit their vulnerability.”**

Feeling unnerved, the Mu took a step back, “what are you?”

Lance stood up and the same light he’d seen coming from the bathroom started glowing from him. **“I am the collection of vengeful spirts anger from the celebrities you’ve ruined. I’m here to take my revenge.”** The camera was ripped from the photographer’s hands and floated above him, surrounded by the same light that was emanating. **“Until you feel the way those celebrities have felt, I won’t feel satisfied!”**

The camera started snapping away, moving away from the Mu’s grabbing hands, scaring the Mu into backing away.

“Stop it!”

**“You didn’t do it for them, why should I do it for you?”**

“Just stop, I’ll do anything, please!”

**“Anything you say?”**

“Yes, please!”

**“If you really want to earn my forgiveness, you will never do this again, tracking every person’s secrets down and exposing them to the world, taking pictures of them without their consent, ruin their lives and reaping in their ruin. You had better hope I don’t even find out you’ve gone back to your ways because you will never be able to escape me, do I make myself clear? I won’t even need a host to be able to do what I’ll have planned.”**

“Yes, yes I promise!”

**“Good, now go!”** Lance demanded as the camera smashed to the floor hard, like it had been thrown with heavy force.

The Mu alien was out of that bathroom in seconds, but his torture wasn’t over as something knocked out his legs with such force he felt himself almost spin in the air before he landed hard on his front. He opened his eyes groaning to see a dagger being stabbed on the floor, the mark of the Blade of Mamora very clear on the hilt. He lifted his head up to see Keith glaring down at him. He had tried to make his mark go away but it seemed to go in the opposite direction as his mark was even more noticeable with his lilac skin, his eyes being taken over by gold and the fangs that seemed to peek from his mouth. The black hoodie he was wearing to no doubt deter people from recognising him hid his changing hair, but he could tell, Keith was pissed

“Where is he?” Keith demanded

“B-b-bathroom!”

“I’m going to tell you this once since obviously you aren’t at all smart. You go anywhere near him again, I’ll show you why I’m the youngest member of the Blade. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, yes I swear!”

“Then get lost. You better be gone by the time we’re out.” Keith didn’t wait for an answer, he pulled his dagger out and then disappeared into the bathroom which was empty. “Lance?”

One of the stalls opened and Lance poked his head out, the red eyes Hunk gave him for this little trick gone, though his hair was a bit messy from the air trick. “Is he gone?” Lance asked, feigning unsureness.

“He’s gone, are you ok?” Keith asked, pulling the hood of his jacket down

“Fine. Trying to steal my look?” Lance teased, noticing the once purple tinted black hair was fading into white. “I thought you were trying to get rid of your mark.”

“I was getting worried and I was pretty pissed off at that guy for even messing with you.” Keith said, tugging at his multi-coloured locks

“Thanks. Not just for standing up to him but for also helping me. It’s nice to know I’ve got you in my corner.”

Keith gave Lance this smile like that should have been obvious. “Of course I am. Come on, I’m sure he’s gone now and I have to go get my jacket back from the fan who lent me his hoodie. Plus, you still need to get headphones.”

“I guess getting rid of a crazy photographer is cause for celebration. Oh, he dropped his camera before I locked myself in the stall.” Lance said, holding up the smashed camera.

“It looks smashed than anything.” Keith pointed out as he took the camera and found the SD card chamber and pulled out the SD card before throwing the hunk of metal into the nearest trash. “You can hold onto this. Now come on, I want to make sure that fan hasn’t run away with my jacket.” Keith pulled Lance out of the bathroom.

Hunk went to follow but his own phone started to ring and waving for Lance to go ahead, Hunk pulled out his lion head phone and answered. “Yes Pidge.”

“Finally! You’re never going to believe this, I was looking at the warning page and the word camera came up but it was backwards.”

“Backwards? You mean…?”

“Like warning would be if it was meant to kill the charge earlier than their death date. It just disappeared what happened?”

“I think we just dodged a bullet.”

* * *

 

“Make sure to give this to your friend’s mother. The only reason you’re allowed to go on this trip is because you got some of the highest grades in your class.” Lance’s grandmother said handing him the large box of cookies.

“Yes grandmother.”

“You _will_ call me on the train and when you get there, do you understand me? Borrow one of those girl’s phones and call.”

“Yes grandmother. Am I allowed to leave? Shiro’s outside.” When Lance’s grandmother gave him an annoyed look he’d seen many times, Lance sighed and said, “I mean Dr. Shirogane.”

“Very well. Go on.”

“Thank you. Bye Coran!”

“Have a nice time my boy.” Coran said

Lance bowed his head to his grandmother, “goodbye Grandmother.”

“Lance.”

With that, Lance grabbed hold on his small suitcase that was covered in different sea animals, his tote bag sitting on top of it and walked to the front gate. He opened it to see Shiro’s car sitting in idle in front of the gate, the trunk already popped for him. To be on the safe side he instead put his suitcase behind his seat and box of cookies in front of his tote bag that sat on the seat. After he closed the trunk, he finally climbed into the car.

“Are those cookies from Honey Bakery?” Shiro asked, eyeing the box

“Grandmother has another box in the house so when you tell her I got to my friend’s ok, I’m sure she’ll reward you.” Lance said, so ready to be meeting with Allura and the other talent that were going to this poolside event. They were headed to another prefecture and Lance would be performing at this concert event happening at a pool lounge and the list of performers was quiet impressive. Lance was also happy to hear that Keith would be there as well, but he’d be with other talent from Empire Records so he hoped they’d get a chance to hang out.

“Well I hope this modelling show goes well. Being by the sea could actually do you some good. The air could be good for you. Just if you want to go swimming, stick to the hotel’s pool ok? Your foster mom never felt safe letting you swim since you’d get sick so much easier when you were a kid.” Shiro warned as he started driving to the train station

“Not like I’m any better now.” Lance pointed out. He might have passed his exams to move onto the next year but all his missed days because of being sick almost kept him back.

“That might be true, but you’re a bit better and you know your limits. Make sure you tell your manager if anything feels wrong ok and call me if you need too.”

“I will, I promise. Don’t worry so much.” Lance said

“You’re my godson and my patient, I’m supposed to worry.” Shiro reminded. “But most importantly, have fun ok?”

“I will, don’t worry.” He was getting the chance to be away from his grandmother and near the water for a while during the summer. He hadn’t done that since he moved to Japan, not even at Shiro’s suggestion, but now things were different.

They pulled up to the station and Shiro helped him pull out his bags.

“Text me when you get to your hotel ok? You said when you get there, it’ll be a few hours before you go walk the runway?” Shiro asked

Lance nodded. “Yeah, we have the day off the next day so after I’m done, I’ll just be relaxing.”

“Alright then. Have fun and be safe ok?”

“I will. I’ll text you when I meet up with Allura. Bye Shiro!” Lance waved as much as he could with occupied hands and took the escalator down, ducking into an alcove to step out as Isamu, Prince of Altea. He knew he wasn’t the only one excited for the trip. Pidge and Hunk were also looking forward to it, glad to get a chance to relax. He felt like they had been keeping something from him but he wasn’t going to prod at it. They needed this relaxing time.

He found Allura at a bento box stand, where she bought them lunch to have on the train ride over.

“Once we get there, we have time for you to change, do sound check and then it pretty much starts. They said you and The Rebels are performing about midway.” Allura said as they walked to the platform where they’d catch their bullet train.

“Wait, The Rebels are the other talent?” Lance asked

“Yep. Have you ever seen them perform?”

Lance shook his head, “I mean I’ve listened to their music and seen their videos but I’ve never really seen them live.” Lance was sure that’s why when he first met Matt, he thought he looked like Pidge. Most of The Rebels’ videos were cartoons, not live actions.

“Well we’re traveling down with them so you’ll get the chance to talk to them more. I know Nyma’s been dying for a chance to talk to you again.” Allura said

“I’m sure.” Lance replied, remembering how he embarrassed himself in front of her last time.

“Just try not to fanboy this time. I mean you and Keith are good friends now right?” Allura reminded

“I mean, I guess. Was a stuttering mess in front of him and I fell on him.”

“I’d advise not to do that to her since she is dating Rolo.” Allura said as they finally got to their platform. Their train was already waiting there, so after double checking with the conductor, they got on and following Allura’s directions were able to find The Rebels and their manager. The seats on the train had the ability to turn around to allow 4 people to sit in a group and The Rebels already had this idea as Rolo and Matt sat next to each other, while Nyma was facing them, her legs propped up on Rolo’s lap. Beezer stood in the middle holding up the screen for the Nintendo Switch 3 that Rolo and Matt were gaming on. “This is Xui, The Rebels’ manager. This is Isamu, Prince of Altea.”

Lance shook his hand, the poor manager looking tired, but seeing how he was an alien, that might have been how he actually looked.

“Isamu! I didn’t see you there. Come over here!” Nyma said, the boys not paying any attention.

“Hi again.” Lance greeted as he put his tote and the box of cookies on the free seat next to Nyma and put his suitcase above.

“Beezer, move over a bit.” Nyma instructed the robot so Lance would have space, taking her own legs down from her boyfriend’s lap

“Don’t move!” Matt snapped, still focused on the screen.

Seeming annoyed, Nyma grabbed the screen ignoring the yells from her bandmates and paused the game, giving the boys a fake smile. “Aren’t we glad we can pause the game from the screen? Couldn’t do that with the last one. Makes it so much easier to get people to act polite.” She said, gesturing over to Lance so her bandmates would finally notice.

“Oh, hi.” Matt said finally taking notice of the white haired singer. “Sorry about that.”

“Yeah, my bandmates can be such boys sometimes, I swear.”

“We’re very sorry. Babe can we get that back please?” Rolo asked reaching for the screen, which Nyma pulled away.

“At least say hi first. You’re like kids seriously!”

“Hi, how are you?” Rolo asked, before trying to grab the screen but stopped when Nyma slammed her foot on the seat between his legs

“Watch it mister. I will aim higher if you don’t behave.”

Rolo flopped back in his seat, “your being abusive.”

“Abusive would be me aiming there first. I will give it back after you actually talk for more than 2 seconds.” Nyma said moving her foot, even though Rolo continued to pout. Ignoring him, she turned to Lance, “excited to do this concert?”

Lance nodded. “I’ve never done anything like this before but it can’t be that different from performing in front of a crowd.”

“Where else have you performed?” Matt asked, twisting the controller in his hands in boredom

“Um a couple other events and a talk show. I did a show at an orphanage once and then we got a schedule mixed up so I ended up doing a performance for a baby music class instead of a children’s art class like we thought I was going to do.”

“Ever hear how we performed for an old people’s home? Mind you, our music is pretty pop-y and I don’t think it causes seizures but we were really worried about doing a whole set there. And since _Music Revelation_ had been released around then, so of course that had to be on the set list.” _Music Revolution_ was one of Lance’s favourite Rebels songs but he had to agree, the techno beat of it would have to be a bit much for a much older listening group.

“Are you guys going to perform that?” Lance asked

Matt shook his head. “We usually use staffs and we were told we can’t use them at the event so we’re doing _We are Magic_ instead. We’d do _Higher_ but that involves being suspended in the air and they vetoed that as well.”

Suspended in the air and staffs? Lance had never really seen The Rebels perform live but he was sure it was something to see.

“What are you wearing on stage?” Nyma asked, “All of us are wearing something that has cat ears on it but I’m lucky because my bikini top is a cat’s face.”

“Cat’s face?” Lance asked, confused

Nyma pulled out her phone, shooting Rolo a glare as he tried grabbing the screen again. He had yet to speak and Nyma was planning on keeping it hostage until then. She pulled up her Instagram and showed Lance a picture set she had taken yesterday. The top of her bikini was black with small ears, the eyes and whiskers of the cat spreading across her chest. The next picture was her with a coverall on that was the same black as the suit with a cat’s face printed on the front with bow.

“Oh, that’s what you meant. I’m wearing a gold coverall with my swimming shorts because my stylist wanted me to show my markings off.”

“What are you planning on doing with your hair?” Nyma asked

Lance shrugged, “put it in a ponytail honestly.”

“Ok, no. You have to at least try to look your best out there.” Rolo finally spoke up, “when do you go on?” Lance shrugged. “I am doing your hair, that’s the first thing we’re doing when we get there.”

Lance looked confused but Matt patted his knee, “trust me, you want Rolo to do your hair. He’s really good.”

Lance decided to trust Matt on that one. Finally gifted back with the screen to the Switch, Rolo and Matt were lost to their gaming while he and Nyma talked.

“You don’t know how to do make up? Really? But your list of face routines?”

“Yeah, I’m good at keeping it looking good, not so good at the make-up part. I know what everything is and all the terms but I’ve never tried it myself.”

“Oh I don’t think you’ll need it for the performance,” Nyma said looking excited, “but tonight, I’m teaching you everything. That’s actually a great idea, we should have a sleepover tonight. We’re planning on going out on a yacht tomorrow. You should come with us.”

“Well, as long as I can invite a friend, assuming he can be free.” Lance said, thinking of a certain singer

“Yeah of course. Invite him to hang out with us tonight. Who knows, maybe I’ll get two models to practise on tonight.”

When they arrive at the hotel, they dropped their things off and got changed, making sure to have a change of clothes to go back in after they left the pool lounge before they all climbed into a van to get there. They were joined by Keith and the other talent that came with him, a blind half Galra named Nariti. Nariti’s manager made all the Galra sit in the back, which became cramped but as much as Keith looked like he wanted to complain, he kept his mouth shut, rolling his eyes listening to Nariti’s manager complain about having to share a van to the event with people from Altea Records. Matt mocked her, causing Lance to have to stifle his laughter which he was sure she saw but he decided not to say anything.

When they arrived, they were lead into the greenroom and Rolo quickly pushed Lance into a chair, obviously wanting to get to work on Lance’s hair. Lance kept still as Rolo’s fingers quickly made braids and pinned them down across his head before creating a bun with the remaining hair, pulling out strands to frame his face. He watched Rolo look at him closely as if to make sure he was satisfied as he nodded and told Lance to take a look. With the help of his front facing camera, he looked at himself, looking at his hair from different angles. He recognised the style as halo braids, the added bun making him look regal.

“Good enough for a prince?” Rolo asked

“It’s perfect. How are you so good at this?” Lance asked

“Single mom whose hair is way longer and a kid who got bored really easily. I like getting the chance to do someone’s hair. You should have seen what I did to Matt’s hair at our first concert.”

“Rebels, you’re on in 5 minutes!” a stage manager announced into the room, “Isamu, Prince of Altea, you’re after. Please stand by.”

Nyma came over, pulling her coverall off, “let’s get pictures before we go on.”

They had cut it close but Nyma was finally happy with the pictures and The Rebels had to run off to get their mics. Lance followed a bit slower as he posted a picture he liked onto his own Instagram but he arrived just in time to watch Beezer go around in circles around each member as he started blasting the music for _We are Magic_ and Nyma started singing

**You tell me I'm out of sight**  
**You give me butterflies**  
 **I'm hanging on every word you say**  
 **You always make my day**

Matt moved to Nyma’s spot in the middle as he started singing next  
  
_My heart is like a bass drum_  
_When I see you, I skip a beat_  
 _The way I feel's so awesome_  
 _'Cause you keep smiling back at me_

Beezer started circling the whole group as they all started singing

**_Moving faster than the speed of light_**  
 ** _"You and I" feels so right_**  
 ** _Glitter rains everywhere we go_**  
 ** _You rock my world in the moonlight_**  
  
**_Spread the magic_**  
 ** _You and I, we are magic_**  
 ** _Spread the magic_**  
 ** _You and I, we are magic_**

During the bridge, Nyma reclaimed her spot in the middle as the boys moved closer so they’d form a triangle

**You tell me I'm really cute**  
**You got me hooked on you**  
 **I know that you feel the same**  
 **Every time I hear you call my name**

Rolo stayed at his point as he started singing

Dancing under the stars  
We're spinning faster  
Turn it around, here we go  
We can take you far  
We are magic  
We are  
  
**_Moving faster than the speed of light  
"You and I" feels so right  
Glitter rains everywhere we go  
You rock my world in the moonlight  
  
Play the music, I am so alive  
In this speed, we can fly  
Way out there in the universe  
Baby, you and I, we are magic  
_**  
**Spread the magic  
You and I, we are magic  
  
Spread the magic  
You and I, we are magic**  
  
**_Spread the magic_**  
 ** _You and I, we are magic_**  
  
**_Spread the magic_**  
 ** _You and I, we are magic_**  
  
****_We are magic_

“Thank you everyone!” Matt said into his mic over the cheering. Once it died down he spoke again, “so I know this isn’t my job but we spent an entire train ride over and we snuck into his recording session when he was recording his debut song and let me tell you, prepare to be blown away for those of you who’ve somehow missed him. Please welcome to the stage, Isamu, Prince of Altea!”

Lance waved to the cheering crowd as he stepped out onto the stage. As Matt threw in who had done his hair, he noticed that Hunk and Pidge seemed to be shoving each other in the water of a nearby pool. With the amount of people, it wasn’t surprising no one noticed the extra splashes from something that wasn’t there. He took the mic Matt handed to him and greeted the crowd, getting the Shinigami’s attention.

“Please enjoy this song, _Myself.”_ Like muscle memory, Lance was ready to sing once the music started

**_Doushite doushite suki nan darou  
Konna ni namida afureteru_ **

* * *

 

“And then you blend it so it creates a smoky effect. See?” Nyma leaned back, allowing Lance to lift the mirror in his hand to look at the black smoky eyeshadow Nyma had been putting on him. She had been teaching him how to do different full faces or at the very least completing one part. Matt was letting Rolo mess with his hair while he played on the Switch by himself and mindlessly put cookies into his mouth. Lance was apparently a favourite because of the box he’d brought. He had to have Pidge and Hunk on his lap to be able to even sneak them cookies.

“Yeah. You make it look easy.” Lance said

“It can be, just don’t make it too dark or you’ll have raccoon eyes and I have yet to meet a species that can pull that off.” Nyma said

“Right.” Just then the door to Lance and Allura’s hotel room was knocked on. “Who is it?” he called

“It’s me!” a familiar voice answered

“Oh, I got it!” Nyma said springing from the bed and opening the door to reveal a very Galran looking Keith. At the same moment, music that had been playing from Lance’s phone started to play Red’s _Your Knight_. “Look at that, theme song and everything.”

Lance couldn’t help but giggle at Keith rolling his eyes. He’d been happy to hear that The Rebels got along with Keith. Having to share the van from and back with Nariti’s manager had been grating on everyone’s nerves. Nariti didn’t even seem to notice, the DJ had headphones on the whole time and her cat was draped around her shoulders as if to act as extra ear protection.

Keith sat on the edge of the bed near Lance while Nyma crawled back on in front of him. Keith was focused on Lance’s face as he took in his almost full face of make-up.

“You look good.”

“Thanks. Nyma’s trying to teach me how to do make-up.”

“Ah, see I don’t have that issue. I’m purple and my hair is always a mess so it’s trademark.” Keith said, sounding proud

“Well not everyone has that option. Now hold still so I can do eyeliner. Remember Isamu, he’s technically still the enemy.” Nyma said, ignoring Keith’s yell of insult. “When it comes to battling for part be it in commercials or shows or even movies, friendships don’t exist anymore.”

“I don’t think it’d ever be like that. Me and Keith are great friends.” Lance said, so sure in the fact that Keith wouldn’t do anything to hurt him.


	10. The Prince's audition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I'm about to enter finals week, I won't have time to update tomorrow so here's an early update. Look out day before s8 drops for another update. Hopefully you won't die because things are about to get interesting for our pair of singers.

Lance had been texting Keith when Allura told him. A commercial. Lance had the chance to audition for a commercial. It was for a hair product commercial and according to her, they were veering away from using the usual, half naked, wet actor and wanted the actor to be more involved in what was going to be the way to show off the product. Lance was excited. They ended up not making a video for Myself - which was fine, one less thing to explain to Shiro - but Lance wanted the chance to do something in front of the camera that would be seen all over. If it was a popular product then there was a possibility there was a chance to be seen in other parts of the world. A chance Akira could find him.

“Do you know if who else is auditioning?” Lance asked as Allura drove him home from a photoshoot.

“Empire is also sending people so there’s a chance Keith could be there. I’m terrified for anyone else they’d send with him.”

“Wait, am I the only one doing this from Altea?” Lance asked

Allura nodded, “the boss wanted to continue with your rise of fame and see if you can bag this one. She said it’ll be good for your popularity.”

Lance was actually starting to feel nervous. If any other talent were there, he’d think of it as a friendly competition but now he had so much more to go up against, including Keith if he was there.

“Don’t look so nervous. The fact that the boss trusted you alone with this means something and I’m not talking about just to build on your success. She is really sure that you’ll be completely fine. I honestly still think she’s impressed with how you were able to handle Ryner.” Allura said

Lance took a deep breath. This was a huge responsibility but if his boss – who he had yet to meet – thought he was up for it, then Lance was ready to go.

“Ok, so when is this?”

“Um, tomorrow?”

Silence filled the car.

“Tomorrow! Allura, what the hell?! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“I’m sorry!”

* * *

Pidge poked her head around the corner as Lance, as himself, rushed over to his room. “What took you so long?” she asked as he threw one of the sliding doors from the veranda open, instead of using the front door.

“Allura was telling me about an audition and we stayed talking on the sidewalk when I saw the time and rushed on to the train.” Lance said, throwing his bag down, where Pidge could hear Hunk complain about his rough treatment but Lance didn’t seem to care as he pulled off his clothes and pulled on more comfortable clothes for his appointment at the hospital. By this time, Hunk had worked the zipper and was out of the bag, looking like he was done for the day. Lance picked up his bag anyway and was about to run out of the room when he turned to Pidge.

“What?” she asked seeing Lance stare at her

“Nothing, just…you seemed kinda quite.”

“How?”

Lance shrugged. “You just do. It’s nothing. I gotta go, I’ll see you later.”

“Be careful!” Hunk called as Lance left before turning to Pidge. “Are you ok?”

“Why are you asking?”

“Nothing, it’s just, it’s like Lance said. You’re kinda quite. Are you sure you’re ok?”

“Hunk, I’m fine. You’re worrying over nothing. So what’s this audition Lance was talking about?”

While Hunk told Pidge of what Lance was planning on doing the next day, Lance and Coran climbed into a taxi to go to the hospital. Lance was actually expected for his check up to make sure his cancer hadn’t grown more.

“What took you so long to come out of your room?” Coran asked as they drove to the hospital

“I, uh, took a nap. I woke up just then.”

“Well lucky you woke up when you did. Your grandmother would have been furious if you missed you appointment.”

“Shiro still would have seen me.” Lance said

“Be that as it may, it still would have been rude to miss the appointment.” Coran said, Lance rolling his eyes a bit.

They arrived at the hospital with time to spear and he was lead to the exam room by a nurse, where Shiro greeted him with a smile.

“Hi Lance. How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good.” Lance answered, putting his bag down and sitting on the patient bed. “I almost overslept though.”

“Feeling tired? Or where you just so bored you took a nap?” Shiro asked, moving his chair after, his tablet on his lap, ready to check Lance’s vitals before he checked on the cancer

“Um, I’m not feeling that tired. I’m working really hard at my job.”

“I’m glad.” Shiro said unhooking the blood pressure cuff and electronic thermometer from the end of the patient bed. “You haven’t shown me any pictures yet though.”

“Oh. Uh, I want to make a whole collage first. Maybe after summer is over and my jobs might have to pull back so I can focus on school. Final year and all.”

“Entrance exams too. I know you’ll try and enter into any music department of any college you go to, but what does your grandmother want you in?”

Lance made his body relax as the cuff got tighter around his arm. “Anything that isn’t music she’ll be happy I do. Maybe not theatre or anything like that, but you get my point. I could probably plead and beg and she’d never change her mind. That’s got to do something to a person’s psyche right?”

“I mean, kinda? It doesn’t help that she doesn’t give you support and that your relationship is a bit strained but it could be much worse. Ok, temperature and blood pressure are good. Let’s check your lungs before we check on the sarcoma.”

Lance let Shiro go through the motions of finishing checking his vitals before he was told to open his mouth so Shiro could check with his eyes first. Lance was a bit worried about what the verdict would be but he knew Hunk and Pidge hadn’t said anything so he was sure until next year, he’s still be fine.

“Alright. Now let’s do an x-ray. Shirt off.” While Lance pulled his shirt off, Shiro dragged over an x-ray machine. Compared to the large ones that used to exist, the radiation was cut down significantly and the machine could be told to only scan a certain area on the patient’s body. He had it lifted to be the exact height of Lance’s chest area where it could also get his neck. He stood behind the machine and typed in the commands, telling Lance to stay still while the machine scanned over the told area. The x-ray was sent to Shiro’s tablet for him to look over. “Ok, all done. Put your shirt back on.”

“So how does it look? Has it grown?” Lance asked as he pulled his shirt back on and got off the table, following Shiro as he looked at the x-ray.

Shiro shook his head. “It hasn’t gotten worse.”

“That’s a relief. Does that mean if I have to go to an audition tomorrow, that maybe you’d be ok with it?”

“Audition? For your job? I wouldn’t be able to cover for you, I have to go to a university to give a lecture for med students.”

“Over the summer?” Lance asked

“It’s to help them with a presentation they have to do what they get back.” Shiro explained

“Ok, it’s ok. I’ve got it covered, but is it ok?” Lance begged

“As long as you’re careful, I don’t see a problem. Your manager will be there correct?” Lance nodded. “Then you’re in good hands. Good luck ok?”

“Thanks. I’ll see you later then?” Shiro nodded watching Lance leave before turning back to Lance’s x-ray with a serious look on his face.

Lance got home to his grandmother already in bed so Coran made them tacos for dinner before sending Lance back to his room with a homemade parfait in hand. He came into the shed that was his room when he heard Hunk yelling about something. He slid the door open to see Hunk looking at Pidge with utter surprise and Pidge not looking very bothered.

“What’s going on?” Lance asked around the spoon in his mouth.

“Pidge wants to go with you to the audition tomorrow, like instead of me.” Hunk explained

“Look, Hunk’s good with the music stuff, but this is a different path of showbiz I think I could really help you with. I can couch you in how to talk to a person correctly in the situation. Hunk can’t.” Pidge said matter of factly.

“Ok…um, I guess. It’s just, who’s gonna stay here to trick my grandmother?” Lance asked

“Hunk can. He’s good at changing other people but it would do him some good to get practise into changing himself. Of course he can’t really talk since his voice is way different from yours, so you’ll have to keep out of trouble. Is that ok?”

Hunk looked at Lance who just shrugged. He didn’t see a problem in it.

“As long as you also keep out of trouble, I really don’t see a problem.

“Good. It’s settled. I’ll be going with Lance tomorrow and Hunk will be staying here.” Lance hoped he wouldn’t regret giving into this.

* * *

Lance was on the train the next morning after leaving Hunk in his place at home. Pidge was hanging from the ledge of the window, staring out of it. Because of the lack of people in the car, Lance wasn’t bugging for Pidge to at least climb into the bag and stare out the window.

“Why the sudden urge to come out of the house? You’re usually fine at home with my 4DS.”

“I know. It’s just that I should be putting more of my time into your career. It shouldn’t just be Hunk focused on your job. I’m here to help you too.” Pidge said

Rubbing his hand on top of Pidge’s fuzzy head, Lance said, “I know. And I appreciate what you do for me, even just staying at home pretending to be me. Getting the chance to do this and to achieve my dream, even if it only lasts a year, it means more to me than you know Pidge.”

Pidge blinked her eyes up at Lance, almost starting to look glassy. “I’m glad I’m able to help. Now, let’s make sure you score this commercial.”

“Sure.”

They got off at the station and with Pidge holding the address, Lance pulled out his phone to pull it up on the GPS. There was a slight problem though. And that would be the 5% battery.

“Is that gonna last enough for you to get there?” Pidge asked, sounding a bit concerned.

“I really hope so. Do you think I should just call Allura to come and meet me here instead of at the building?” Lance asked

“Um, I mean, if it’s too far then maybe we should just try getting there ourselves. We have to be there for 1 right? It’s 12 right now so we have an hour.”

Lance stood there trying to debate what he should do when he decided to just go for it. “I’ll GPS it. If I get close to the building if it dies on me then I should be good. Plus I can always ask someone for help.” Lance inputted the address into his GPS and quickly tried to memorize the highlighted path, even pulling up the step by step directions trying to retain it as much as possible. He did get a few streets down before the screen went black and he was stuck staring at the blue glass of his phone. He continued walking the way he’d been told, keeping an eye out for the next street on the directions, only stopping once he reached there. He forgot which way he had to turn.

“Shit.”

“What’s wrong?” Pidge asked from the bag

“I forgot which way to turn. You’d think I’d remember since I was staring at it, but I don’t remember.”

“That’s ok. We can do like you suggested and go ask.” Pidge reminded him. He’d almost forgotten about that.

He looked around and quickly spotted someone, who seemed to be looking in his direction. They looked female, with blue skin and dark blue hair, their bangs swept on the right side of their face. Lance wasn’t sure if the black horns were actually horns or hair pieces but just looking at her reminded him of Azula, for The Last Airbender. He didn’t let the obvious confidence that ozz from them push him away.

“Excuse me? Do you think you can help me?”

They took him in and gave him a smile that almost held…fakeness? “Of course. But can I ask? Are you Isamu, Prince of Altea? It’s just, you don’t usually see white haired Alteans these days.”

“Um, yes. I am.”

“I thought so. Oh wow, it’s so nice to meet you. Of course I can help you. What’s up?”

“Oh, um, I need to get to here,” Lance took the paper with the address on it from his bag, handing it to the alien. “I had been using my GPS but my phone died.”

They looked over the map and nodded. “Oh, ok. So if you take the train to one station over, it’s easier to walk. You just have to head up the street. Let me write it on this.”

“Really? Oh, thank you so much.” He took the paper from them and followed their direction to the nearest train station.

As he was leaving, he thought he heard them say, “You trust too easy _your highness_.”

Lance ran as quickly as he could to the train station, bouncing in place, like it would help him move any faster. He took off like a bullet when the train stopped after he noticed the displayed time. How had it gotten so late? He finally saw the street and just beyond, a familiar head of white hair.

“Allura!”

“Lance, there you are! Where on earth have you been? I still need to sign you in. why are you so late?”

“I’m sorry. I got lost and my phone died. I got back on the train and got off at Shinbashi and rushed over here.” Lance said trying to catch his breath, his healthy body feeling the need to go off into a coughing fit like he was his 16 year old self all over again

“Shinbashi? You should have gotten off at Yurakucho.” Lance looked up to see Allura pointing at the Yurakucho train station not far from the building. Thing was, Lance had originally gotten off there, just apparently through a different exit.

“Wha-but…”

“Lance. Lance, look over there. It’s that person.” Lance looked over to where Pidge was pointing, his eyes widening when he saw the same blue skinned person who’d ‘helped’ him, standing inside the building.

They pushed open the door, standing in front of Lance, smiling mockingly at him. “Glad to see you got here on time.” Lance felt like Zuko standing in front of his sister, listening to her mock him for how much better she was than him.

“What the fuck! Why the hell did you do that?” Lance snapped

“Sorry, I was just playing around. I didn’t think you’d actually believe me but I guess we can consider it payback for what you did.”

“What are you talking about?” Lance asked, feeling confused and still pissed off.

“I was recently put into a group that’s debuting soon and one of my members is someone you should know very well. It’s because of connections you lied about having that you’re in her place and not the other way around.”

Lance knew exactly who they were talking about. “Ezor, you mean Ezor? Listen to me and maybe you’ll hear better than she apparently can. I don’t have connections, not now and certainly not then. When she told me that she was going to be the winner, I was planning on not even trying but I wanted to actually give my all. The fact that they changed their mind was not my fault.”

“Well if that’s true then, we’ll do this audition fair and square.”

“Why are you even mad at me? I don’t even know you!” Lance snapped. He’d still give it his all at the audition, but he wanted answers.

“I want to show everyone that they’re focusing on the fake prince.” Lance rolled his eyes. That seemed to be a theme with why people didn’t like him.

“Fine, whatever.” He watched as they disappeared back into the building, leaving Lance feeling annoyed. “Who the hell was that?”

“Her name’s Axca. She’s signed to Empire Records.” Allura explained

“So Keith knows her.”

“He does. Last I heard, he can’t stand her either. Granted he can’t stand most of his co-workers at Empire but that’s not the point. She was a solo artist but her popularity sky rocketed after she joined the trio girl group she’s now in. And of course, as you know,” Allura explained

“Ezor’s in it. God, she must be complaining about me a lot.” Lance said, feeling annoyed as he opened the door to get in.

Allura directed him to the sign in desk. “I wouldn’t be surprised. She’s not here thankfully. Keith is though.”

“Really?” Lance asked before he was distracted by signing in and just in time too. He was told to meet upstairs in the conference room at 12:20 to be interviewed. “Do you know where he is?”

“I think upstairs in the café. But Lance, just so you know, along with Keith, Axca is considered your biggest competition.”

“Oh goodie. Oh question, you wouldn’t happen to have a Samsung charger would you?” Allura pulled out a circular charging station from her bag and handed it to Lance. “Thank you! I’ll see you in the conference room.” Lance said, running to the elevators.

“Try to be on time and the café is on the 6th floor.”

“Thank you!”

Soon after, Lance got off the elevator and walked into the café, where the hostess had been able to point out the familiar purple skinned, cat eared alien. Lance snuck up behind Keith who was focused on his phone, though it did slip from his hands when Lance slammed his hands on his shoulders, scaring Keith.

“What the fu-what are you doing?” Keith asked, as he spun around to see Lance laughing at him.

“Oh come on. You were just sitting there. I couldn’t just not.” Lance said, as he sat in the seat opposite Keith.

“You’re an ass.” Was all he was replied with.

“Aww, but you love this ass.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “I’ve been messaging you. Where have you been?” Keith asked

Lance pulled out his phone and turned the charging station on before setting his phone on it, watching the screen light up to display the charging battery. “My phone died on the way here. I got lost and oh, one of the girls who’s with you today deliberately gave me the wrong directions.”

“Axca? She must have done that because of Ezor. That girl has not stopped complaining about you. I just hope she keeps herself away during the whole process here. Are you excited?”

“I’m a bit nervous to be honest.” Lance said. “What if I make an idiot out of myself?”

“You’ll be fine. You’re just talking to them, letting them interview you. That’s how it works. There’s nothing insane to worry about.” Keith reassured

“I guess. Hey, I had to run here thanks to Axca and you do still own me for the sorbet I got you, so wanna get me a water?”

“Yes, your highness.” Keith said, getting up and heading to the counter.

With no witness around, Pidge pulled herself out of Lance bag and looked around. “So where are the rivals?” she asked as she looked around.

Lifting her out of the bag and onto his lap, Lance said, “They’re all my rivals. I’ve seen a lot of these people on TV and on billboards.”

“Is that Axca?”

“Oh my god, it is her. I almost didn’t recognise her not following around that Empire producer like a lost puppy.” Lance turned to see Axca, sitting at her own table, her gaze focused outside. “Was she sleeping with that producer after all?”

“I heard she wasn’t, but still defends that guy. Ugg, he’s so, ugg! Honestly, with someone who’s been an actor since she was a kid, you’d think she has a better sense of what guys to trust.”

“She does look way better though. She’s got an aura around her like she can’t be touched.”

_‘An actor since she was a kid? Then Axca’s really good. I wonder if I actually have a chance at beating her.’_ Lance thought

“Hey, don’t look so nervous. To help you out, I’ll give you some advice, but first you’ll have to get away from your bodyguard.” Pidge said, making Lance realised Keith was coming back with a bottle of water and a glass in hand.

“I was sure you’d want to keep some water since we have to meet our managers in the meeting room in 15 minutes.”

“Oh yeah. Do you know what room?” Lance asked, pouring some water into the glass before putting the bottle into his bag.

“203 on the 6th floor. Who’s this?” Keith asked, nodding to Pidge sitting on Lance’s lap. “You had it with that other one, Hunk, at the hotel.”

“Oh this is Pidge, my other good luck charm.” Lance said, waving Pidge’s paw at him. “I decided to leave Hunk at home this time.”

“I’m sure it wouldn’t make a difference. I’m sure you’ve got a good chance.” Keith said.

“Thanks. Still kinda scared though. Hey, uh, I heard someone say something about Axca sleeping with her producer?”

Keith rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “That rumour is still floating around? For one, it’s not true. Yeah, she likes Lotor enough to think he’s a nice guy but she’s not stupid enough to try and sleep with him. Besides, last I heard, she’s interested in Ezor.”

 “Huh, maybe that’s why she’s extra nasty to me. I’m gonna go to the bathroom. I’ll meet you at the room?” Lance asked, thinking of the quick way to get himself and Pidge alone.

“Ok. Don’t be late.” Keith said as Lance picked up his still charging phone. It was about halfway charged but he still wanted a full battery by the time he left so he made sure it was still sitting on the charging station as he went to the closest bathroom, which was gender neutral. He quickly went into a stall and sat Pidge on the closed seat, putting his phone on the top of the tissue paper dispensor.

“This entire scene seems really familiar.” Lance said leaning against the closed door.

“Except I won’t be tricking you horribly for my own benefit this time. Ok now listen up. Keith is right, you shouldn’t be so nervous. When they talk to you during the interview, answer distinctly and clearly, make sure your answers are clear and snappy. Be relaxed, but keep your posture upright. Let them see how confident you are, even if you aren’t. Make sure to look them straight in their eyes when talking ok?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s like Keith said, don’t be nervous. They’re just asking you questions.”

“You’re right. Being nervous isn’t going to help me.” Lance picked his phone up off the charging station and turned it on. Once the Samsung symbol faded off the screen, a picture of Hunk and Pidge in their plush form came on screen, showing off the time. “Oh, I better get going.” Lance put both his phone and charging station in his bag and picked up Pidge as unlocked the door. However, instead of swinging open, the door stayed closed. No matter how much Lance pushed and pulled that the door, it refused to budge. “What the hell? Hey! Hey, is anyone out there? Someone get me out of here!” after a few minutes of yelling, Lance pulled his phone out and called Keith.

_“Lance? Where are you?”_

“Still in the bathroom, the door won’t budge. Help!”

_“Ok, ok, calm down. I’m coming now.”_

Lance slid down against the wall, feeling annoyed with how things seemed to be going for him. Pidge went back into her original form.

“I bet you that Axca chick did it. Who cares if it’s for her crush, I don’t trust her to keep her word on doing this cleanly.” Pidge said, looking pissed off.

“Well I’m not going to stoop to her level. If I get this audition, it’ll be fair and square.”

“Lance?” a voice called as the bathroom door opened.

“Oh thank god. Keith! Get me out of here!” Lance begged, getting up and banging on the door.

“Why is there a mop blocking your door?” Keith asked as he walked over to where he could hear Lance.

“A mop? Does it look like I’d know? Get me the fuck out of here!”

“Ok, ok! Calm down.” Keith pulled the handle of the mop from the door handle and backed away when Lance came flying out. “Are you ok?”

“I’ll be better when I’m at the audition. Come on, we’re going to be late.”

Keith let himself be dragged upstairs where Allura was waiting with a baited breath, finally looking relaxed when she saw Lance. Keith was quick to leave the two of them as he went back over to Thace, who looked confused, no doubt from when Keith handed him the package he was given and rushed off to go save Lance.

“Where have you been? I thought I told you not to be late?”

“There was an incident in the bathroom.” Lance said, feeling embarrassed

“Was it you and Keith making out, because that’s the only excuse I think I’d take.” Allura said, looking annoyed.

Lance could only give her a glare when Pidge yelled in his ear, “look, Lance over there. It’s that girl. Look at the smirk on her face, it had to of been her!” he did notice Axca looking over at him with a smile on her lips. Lance had a feeling Pidge was right.

“Here, this is the concept they have for their product. It seems that all the people here who are auditioning are singers or are going to debut as singers so they’re might be singing involved.” Allura said as Lance pulled the papers out of the package. “Also they’re interviewing you in either pairs or trios. I was told you’ll be with Keith and, well,” Allura glanced over to Axca, Lance following her gaze.

“Seriously?” Lance asked

“Seriously. She looks happy about it for some reason. Don’t lose to her ok? Honestly, I’ll take anyone, but…I just found out who her manager is and I refuse to lose to her.”

Lance nodded, trying to ignore his nerves. If Axca wanted a fight, he’d give it to her. He was going to win this fair and square, without any sly tricks Axca would try and throw at him.

Before he knew it, he, Keith and Axca were called by a staff member that their turn would be next. They were sat near the door, Keith planting himself between Axca and Lance. Lance was feeling a bit uncomfortable with Pidge staring Axca down.

“I know she had something to do with what happened.” Pidge said

“So you were able to get out after all. Though judging from how you ran off Red, I can guess how.” Axca said

“Ha! I knew it!”

“Fuck off Axca, don’t you have anything better to do than be a general annoyance?” Keith asked

“At least I know where my loyalties lie.” Axca snapped back

“Just shut the fuck up will you? Loyalties, I wouldn’t trust any of you with helping me. I told you to leave him alone.” Keith practically growled

Axca glared at Keith before leaning around him and asked Lance, “I’d break up with Red if I were you.”

“For your information, I’m not dating Red, not that it’d be any of your business anyway.” Lance said

“Oh, well for any chance of getting this commercial it is.” Axca said. “I mean the worst thing that can happen to someone doing a commercial is for a scandal to breakout. The image of the product would be completely ruined because of the association. That’s why if a scandal happened during the contract period, the company would terminate it immediately.” Axca said, smirking when she saw what she said got to Lance.

“Ignore her. She just likes the sound of her voice so much she’ll say anything to let herself be heard.” Keith said

“Screw you Keith.”

“No thanks, you’re not my type.” Axca huffed and turned away from the two. Lance could only hope he could do this without any issues.

Soon they were called in. they all sat in front of the panel of judges and after they each introduced themselves, they were asked questions.

“My hair tends to be rather finicky with my mixed genes, so using Mermaid Tear shampoo has really helped.” Keith answered to the judge’s question of if he’d heard of the product, Mermaid Tear shampoo. Lance had heard of it, but it was a bit expensive for the small amount of hair on his head. Though if his hair was as long as it was when he was Isamu, maybe his grandmother would feel like allowing Coran to purchase it for him. “When those who do hair and make-up for me comment on my soft hair, I tell them that I use Mermaid Tear and they all talk about how amazing it is.”

Lance was worried about what to say. Allura had told him before he should just be himself and talk truthfully, Pidge nodding her head behind her.

“Don’t look so scared Lance, I’ve got the perfect thing for you to say.” Pidge said. Lance felt scared at that statement.

“And you Isamu? How do you fit with the shampoo image?” one of the judges asked. Lance hadn’t noticed Keith had sat back down.

“Oh, um…” Pidge seemed to be as surprised as he was, but luckily Lance thought quick. “Ever since I grew my hair out, I’ve wanted my hair to just bounce.” He said, pulling his hair out of its side ponytail to play with it a little, hoping they could see what he meant. Pidge had idea of her own.

“Rover, activate wild winds.” The pyramid shaped robot started blasting air in Lance’s face, causing his hair to fly up. “Wait, shit, too high!”

Lance knew he had to of been getting strange stares because even this was much for an Altean. “Pidge, make it stop.” he said over the wind, hoping he wouldn’t be heard.

“Rover, stop!” just as quickly as he started the winds, Rover stopped them, beeping apologetically as Lance’s hair flopped in his face

Using his arm to push his hair away, Lance gave the panel a strained smile, “tada. Isn’t it bouncy?”

Lance was not expecting one of the judges – he couldn’t remember the name of their species, but like looked like bugs, tall human like bugs with 2 sets of arms and actual mouths – to burst into laughter.

“You are a very funny and interesting person Isamu, Prince of Altea.” They said

“Thank you.” Lance replied, glad that somehow it had worked. He hadn’t noticed that Axca seemed to be glaring over at him.

As the interview continued, she had noticed she hadn’t got many reactions from the judges, while Keith had gotten a few smiles and Isamu got laughter from his answers, which seemed to make no sense to her. When they were told the interview was over, she quickly turned to Isamu, “Isamu, you should really let them know about _that_. You know, your crush?”

“That little! She said that on purpose!” Pidge yelled from over Lance’s shoulder

“Oh, I said that out loud. I’m sorry.” Keith and Lance were not fooled by the fake sincerity in Axca’s voice.

Lance noticed the judges were talking amongst themselves and he knew he had to say something. He heard Pidge telling him to cover it up, but at that moment he remembered when Akira told him about the new moon, when the moon couldn’t be seen in the sky. He’d told him that if he closed his eyes and listened to the sounds around him, he’d be able to feel the moon’s beams on him and Lance didn’t see the point in hiding how he felt.

“There is. I do have a crush on someone.”

Even as they judges discussed how bad it would be for the image, Lance still held his smile on his face and nothing, not even Axca’s self-serving smile was going to get rid of it.

* * *

“So he told them?” Hunk asked, as he took a bit out of the Chinese boa Coran had brought for Lance. He knew that Coran had more so the actual Lance would get some, which felt like it was needed because it sounded that Lance wouldn’t get the commercial.

_“Yeah, when I heard him talking to Allura, he said that Axca obviously wasn’t going to play fair so he didn’t see the point in trying to lie because he was sure she’d spout out something else. He didn’t want to hide his intentions for being a singer so he decided to just be truthful. To be honest, me and Allura did tell him that.”_ Pidge explained

“Well, we can’t fault him for that. There’ll be others.” Hunk reminded

_“I know, hopefully, that bitch won’t be there. It was kinda fun to see Keith rip her a new one when they left the room. He was so furious.”_

“Well duh, come on Pidge. You have to admit they’re pretty good together.”

_“What if, what if he forgets about Akira? I mean, that would be good right? If he’s the one Lance is to meet?”_

Hunk thought. It would be good, but at the same time it would mean Lance wanting to stay even more. “It can go either way honestly. Let’s not focus on that. Allura will probably take him to lunch after, so tell him I’m proud of him staying true to himself.”

_“I will. I better get back, they just called everyone to come into the meeting room so they could find out who won.”_

“Ok, see you soon.” Hunk hung up, flopping onto his back. He was proud of Lance and he knew it would pay off, if not this time, the next. He did wonder why Pidge was focused on Akira though. The past couple weeks, it was only focused on Lance and helping his career grow during the summer months. Pidge never brought up Akira, not wanting Lance to get distracted. “I wonder why she brought him up now?” Hunk asked out loud

While Hunk wondered that, Lance sat with all the other contenders in a meeting room in the front row, while the managers sat in the row behind them. At the sight of the judges coming in, Lance felt Allura put her hand on his shoulder. He gave her a thankful smile before looking at the judging panel sit in their seats and look at the hopefuls.

“We first want to thank you all for coming here and we want to say what a great job you all have done. Now we’d like to announce the winner of the audition. To be our new spokesperson for Mermaid Tear Shampoo, we’ve chosen…Red.”

While upset he didn’t get it, Lance was quick to send a huge smile in Keith’s direction as he got up and thanked the judging panel, sharing a quick high five with Thace who sat behind him.

“Isamu, Prince of Altea?”

“Um, yes?” Lance asked standing up.

“We’ve decided to also choose you as a spokesperson as well. It’ll change our original idea, but we thought you and Red would work well together.”

“Yes, of course! Thank you so much!” Lance was giddy. The small fanboy in him that still existed even though he and Keith were friends was buzzing at the thought of being in a commercial with him, a similar part happy that he got to be with his friend. He was also happy that he beat Axca at her own game. She didn’t play fair and she lost while Lance stayed true to himself. It felt like déjà vu honestly, but he wasn’t going to complain. He gave Keith a big smile, walking over to properly congratulate him when Axca stepped between them, forcing them apart.

“Axca, what the hell?” Keith asked

“You have to choose one of them!” she demanded

“Excuse me?” the judge who had called Lance funny asked. “You weren’t chosen, you don’t get to decide.”

“I can tell you this much, you don’t choose right now, our company will be giving you a call. He’s an amateur.” She said, pointing at Lance

“Excuse me?” Lance snapped but was ignored

“Can you excuse us?” Keith asked, not waiting for an answer as he grabbed Axca by the arm and pulled her out of the room, the slammed door showing how angry he was. Lance tried not to feel awkward as all the other contestants broke into whispers. He hoped Keith really gave Axca hell.

“What the fuck is your problem?” Keith snarled at Axca.

“I’m doing my job.”

“What job? This isn’t the Altean-Galran war. Why are you making things difficult?” Keith demanded to know

“He stole Ezor’s spot! He had connections and let himself lord over her while she gave him everything he wanted.”

“Newsflash Axca! Your girlfriend lost because Isamu is a better singer than her. Even Lotor told her that. If you can’t get that through your head, then you’re a bigger idiot that I thought. Then again, you thought your stupid tricks wouldn’t get Isamu picked and now look. He was picked and your left with nothing.” Keith went to leave a seething Axca in the hallway but the door opened and the other contestants and their managers poured out. Keith ignored the looks he was getting. He wouldn’t be surprised if they had heard him screaming at Axca, he wasn’t exactly quite.

Once it looked like they were all gone, Lance poked his head out and waved Keith inside. “They want to talk to us.”

Great, that was never good.

Keith followed Lance, standing near Thace who stood with Allura and Lance in front of the panel, who didn’t look very happy.

“So, tell me Red, would you be happy working with Isamu here?” the head judge asked

“Yes. Please ignore what my co-worker said. She has this stupid grudge and she’s insistent on having the last word. Isamu and I can work together fine.” Keith answered, seeing Lance nod.

The head judge sighed, “Trust me when I say I believe you. However, I also believe your friend as well.”

“Axca and I aren’t friends.” Keith said

“Be that as it may, be honest, your company wouldn’t sign a contract for you to work with Isamu would they?”

Keith took a deep breath, not wanting to answer but he had to, “no, they wouldn’t.”

“We don’t have time to make a whole case. I’m afraid we’ll have to pick one of you.”

“Then pick Isamu.” Keith said

“What? No, Red, they choose you first.” Lance protested

They were stopped before it could become a tennis match of passing the job on. “We’re going to do call-backs. We wanted singers auditioning because we wanted them to create a small song that they felt went with the product. It would be featured in the commercial. Mermaid Tear has two new scents, Only Rose and Tall Ocean. You will each get a scent and try and create a song. You’ll come in, record it and then we’ll choose from there. Isamu, you get Tall Ocean and Red, Only Rose. We didn’t plan for this sudden call back so we only have a day until we go down to record. The rest of the time was supposed to be spent coming up with ideas before leaving it in your hands to record.”

“We have a day to write a song?” Lance asked, remembering how he needed all 3 days to write his debut song.

“It doesn’t have to be long, we just want something more than a line. I know its short notice but this is what we have to work with. Think you two can do that?” Keith and Lance looked at each other before nodding. “Good. We’ll give you the bottles and we’ll see you day after tomorrow at 9 am. Don’t be late.”

“Yes sir.” Both singers answered.

“Alright then, thank you for your time.”

Knowing they were dismissed, they all left the room, silence filling the hallway.

“I’m sorry. I should have tried to keep a tighter lid on Axca.” Keith said, Lance shaking his head

“It’s not your fault. Just really bad luck. Guess we’re just gonna have to see who they like better.” Lance said, a teasing smile on his face

Keith rolled his eyes, which were filled with mirth, “just don’t be too surprised when I win.”

“Sure you will mullet.”

“Excuse me? What mullet?”

“That two toned one sitting on your head. I’ll see you later, bye!” Lance said, his mischievous laughter following him down the hallway, leaving Keith glaring at him, not really mad, but refusing to accept what Lance had told him

“You would have been good together on the commercial.” Thace said

“Thanks but thanks to Axca’s stupid grudge, we can’t do that. Was there ever a chance I’d get to work with him?” Keith asked

“Not unless Zarkon wanted to try and break him. Speaking of which, you know I won’t be there when you have to go in and record correct?”

Keith looked confused when he remembered. “You were called in by the Blade. The client only trusts you right?”

“Helped save her family when I was still active. Won’t have anyone but me. This isn’t one of those things you can do by yourself; a representive will have to go with you. I don’t know who it is, but Lotor had been attached to the email when I sent them the tentative schedule that they had given you in your packet. I wouldn’t be surprised if he went with you, even if it was just to meet Isamu.”

Keith glared at the floor. “Then I’ll just have to make sure and keep them apart.”

“Please don’t do anything stupid.” Thace begged

“Then he shouldn’t try and piss me off.” Was all Keith said, leaving Thace sighing and hoping nothing bad would happen.


	11. The Prince and the betrayal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it all ends tomorrow, Voltron I mean. If klance doesn't become cannon, I'm not really gonna care. I'll still write klance, I'll still reblog any klance pictures, since I will still be on tumblr. So please enjoy this angsty chapter and I'll see you on the other side.  
> Also, apologies for the many line breaks and someone told me I had misspelt Acxa's name, whoops. To be fair, it is a string of random letters that make up the name so...

“So you and Keith are now competing?” Hunk asked as Lance bit into what Coran had thought was his second helping of Chinese baos.

“Yeah. We have a day to write a song and I don’t really have ideas. My scent is Tall Ocean so it has to be similar to that, but I can’t think of anything.” Lance said.

Hunk hummed, trying to think of suggestions. “What’s the name of the brand again?”

“Mermaid Tear Shampoo. They’re pretty pricy but they’ve been known to be amazing on long hair.” Lance explained, looking over at Pidge, who’d been rather silent since arriving home.

“Maybe…well, why don’t we start by saying anything that comes to mind when you think about Mermaid Tear or the scent?” Hunk suggested.

“Ok. Ocean, salt, stargazing, sirens, pirates, Little Mermaid, waves, fish, beach, sand, romantic, umm?” Lance listed.

“Ok, that seems good for now. Ok, why stargazing?” Hunk asked.

“Back in LA, my foster mom had us living in a beach house she owned while dealing with family issues and on warm nights that she said was ok for me, me and Akira went down to the water and used his telescope to stargaze. It was really fun.”

“Ok, how about sirens?”

“Those go with pirates. Hearing mermaid usually makes me think of sirens and pirates and usually associated when talking about mermaids.”

“Hmm, can’t really see that connected with a shampoo, unless you were kidnapped by pirates or something.” Hunk said.

Lance shook his head. He didn’t really like that idea either. “Have you ever heard of the original story of the Little Mermaid?”

“Not the Disney version?” Hunk asked.

“No, the one it’s based off of. Akira read it to me. It’s kinda sad to be honest. The mermaid princess does fall in love with the prince and he starts to fall for her but he’s arranged to marry a new princess and he falls for her instead. Instead of killing the prince in order to regain her tail and go back home, she let herself turn into foam because she loved him so much.”

“That’s so sad.” Pidge finally spoke.

“It is. I feel like they’re more to this, but…I don’t know how to look at it. It’s not like I can try living through her eyes.” Lance said, ready to throw the idea out when Hunk said.

“I mean, you can.”

“Huh?”

“Isn’t the beach not that far from here? I mean, one snap and you’ll be healthy enough to swim. It getting late so we could head in before dinner maybe? Or should we wait till after?”

“Let’s wait till after. Let’s not give my grandmother a reason to ground me the rest of the summer.”

* * *

 

Lance swam in the chilly water, feeling refreshed as the tiny fish swam away from him. Lance broke the surface of the water, pushing the strands of white hair away from his face and looked up at the moon.

“How does it feel?” Hunk asked, perched on a rock nearby.

“So good. This feels so nice.” Lance said as he started to float on his back.

“I’m actually surprised you’re so good at swimming.” Hunk pointed out.

“Indoor pools and getting dried really quickly so I didn’t catch a cold. I didn’t do it often so I’m not amazing but I can swim well enough and open my eyes underwater. All the essential skills.” Lance said.

“Let’s see if those skills can help you come up with an idea for a song. How are you feeling?”

He was feeling grateful he could be floating in the water like this. He’d never get the chance as a regular human, too many chances of getting sick. He felt closer to the ocean he loved, even if it had been from a distance as he felt curious fish dart near him. They were instinctive about avoiding him for the most part which reminded Lance a bit of the mermaid princess. She liked the prince, so she wanted to be near him. She went through pain just to be with him, wanting to leave when she couldn’t because it hurt to be without him but she wanted him to be happy. Even as she died because of him essentially, she loved him unconditionally.

“I think I know what I want to write. Hunk, come on. I got to get home.” As the two left the beach, they hadn’t realised that they were being watched.

* * *

 

Pidge watched Lance sneak back into his room, guilt bubbling in her. She had been acting differently, because she knew something she had kept from Hunk and from Lance. Something that was happening again, something that almost happened not that long ago. Something she couldn’t tell them because she had the feeling Lance would risk death for this, if it meant seeing Akira again.

“Rover, bring up the handbook, to the warning page.” Pidge ordered, the pyramid robot answering quickly with showing the page she wanted.

CM, short for commercial. It was written in the warnings page, backwards. Words written backwards told of something that would not stop Lance’s death, but bring it forward. The word had appeared a few days ago, before she even heard Lance talk about the audition. She wanted to help him get the audition, so badly but the thought of what could happen to him. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She wasn’t supposed to get attached. Last time she did…no. last time, she’d been let down. She didn’t want Lance to go through whatever he’d go through that would lead him to his death. Not yet. She knew if she told Hunk, he’d just try and take care of it himself, it’s what he’d done since they met Lance. Hunk wanting to take care of Lance, help him fulfil his wish, thinking he could do it on his own. Pidge knew better. They might have been called Gods of Death, but they weren’t Gods. They couldn’t control everything. There would be a time they messed up and it could end in Lance’s life.

It wasn’t fair! Lance was excited for this, he wanted to do this and get far. He went to the ocean for inspiration to try and win, even if it meant going against what Pidge could see as his closest friend. Why this? Why did this have to be a warning that could rip him away from them? She had to do something to get Lance away from the audition. He had a whole day tomorrow before he had to go. She needed to think of something. If all else failed, she’s have to beg Lance not to go and if that failed….she didn’t want to go there.

Phasing through the roof, she fond Hunk helping Lance blow dry his hair as he was jotting notes down.

“How’d it go?”

“Amazingly. I’ve been able to understand why the mermaid princess wanted to do what she did, even when it ended in tragedy. I’m going to spend the whole day tomorrow writing this song and trying to come up with a melody for it. I’m gonna need to download a music making app.” Lance said

“Oh, I thought, um, I thought we could go shopping as a celebration. I remember those really nice cases for your phone at the store and you’ve dropped that phone more than enough times.”

Pidge was right. The phone had slipped from his hands and onto the floor since he got it. And onto his face but he wouldn’t think about that.

“I do need a case. I’ll write in the morning and I’ll head out in the afternoon. Did you see one you think I’d like?” Lance asked

“Well, I did see one that had seashells printed on it.”

Lance smiled. “Sounds nice. We’ll go look for it tomorrow.”

She had until then to stop him from it or else….

* * *

 

“Why do you want to win this audition? I mean, Keith’s got more experience right?”

Lance looked down at Pidge who sat in his bag as he stood in front of the shelf that held the different cases for his phone. He had gotten up early and gone through several versions of his song before he was able to get started with a melody. That took longer but in the end, he felt confident in what he wrote and had created. He was confident he had a good chance.

“So? Just cause Keith has more experience doesn’t mean I don’t have a chance. And I want to win because this would be my first one and who knows? Maybe Akira would see me and he’d listen to my words and realise it’s me.”

Pidge watched Lance set one case down and pick another up. “Would you risk anything to see Akira again?”

“I’d do whatever was possible, within reason of course. I’m not a monster.” Lance said. “I think I like this one. It’s got the heads from the Altean Voltron Lions on it.” Lance said, showing Pidge the case but she wasn’t paying any attention.

“If something bad where to happen with you trying to do this audition, would you not do it?”

“What do you mean?” Lance asked getting in line.

“Say, you were going to get hurt, would you drop the audition?” Pidge asked.

“Getting a little hurt isn’t bad for me. Besides, you guys said you’d help me so…do you know something?” Lance asked, but Pidge didn’t answer.

Lance quickly purchased the case and as he fitted it onto his phone, he walked to a much less populated area before putting his bag down so he could look at Pidge.

“Pidge, answer me. Are you hiding something? Why are you asking me about leaving the audition?”

Turning back into her regular form Pidge said, “Look, you don’t have a good chance to winning, so you might as well give up now.”

“Seriously? You have that little faith in me? What the hell Pidge? You’re the one who helped me in the audition yesterday. Why bother helping me if you don’t have any trust that I can actually win this?”

“Because I don’t want you to go, just don’t!” Pidge yelled.

“I need a reason why Pidge. At least tell me something.” Lance begged for answers.

“I can’t, just-you need to drop this audition.”

“No. Pidge, there is no reason for me to stop so I’m not going to drop out and there’s nothing you can say that’s gonna change my mind.”

“Fine.” Pidge snapped before flying away, ignoring Lance’s calls to come back.

Lance let out a frustrated huff as he picked up his bag. He didn’t know what was with Pidge but he wasn’t about to give up so easily. His phone buzzed and Lance pulled it out to see that Keith had texted him.

** I have been able to write songs in less time than a day, but this rose theme is kinda hard. Have you finished yours? **

_ Yeah. Went out to get inspiration yesterday and spent all of this morning working on the song and part of the afternoon doing the melody _

_ Well most of the afternoon to be honest _

_ But it’s all done and I’m happy with what I have _

** That’s pretty impressive. Good for you for feeling so confident. I don’t **

_ Well, when I was trying to think of an idea, I thought about everything that I could think of when thinking about the scent and the brand. It was a huge help. _

** That sounds like a good idea. I should try that. **

_ Glad to offer assistance. Let me know when you’ve got a song done. _

** I will. Thanks Lance and if I forget because I’m focused on the song writing part, good luck tomorrow. **

Why was it his rival for this audition had trust in him but Pidge, someone who said they’d help him, didn’t? He didn’t understand her line of thinking. What had he done to make her think she couldn’t do anything?

He’d been so focused in his thoughts that when he was climbing back over the wall of the gate around his house, he didn’t notice someone waiting for him when he threw his bag over the wall and then jumped down from the tree until he turned around.

“Grandmother? W-what are you…?”

“I should be asking you that. I should have known you’d been sneaking out. All those sudden appointments, come here!” she grabbed Lance by the wrist and tugged him to another corner of the compound. “I knew I couldn’t trust you. You are going to stay in here until you promise not to ever leave these grounds again. No point keeping you in school either.” She snapped, utterly furious as she threw Lance into the shed. “Oh, and don’t think I don’t know about your little modelling career because that’s over as well.” She said as she closed the door, putting the lock back on place, ignoring her grandson’s pleas to open the door.

“Ma’am, is this truly nes-” Coran started.

“Quite Coran. This does not concern you. I will discipline my grandchild how I like. Get Dr. Shirogane on the phone, I need a word with him.”

“Um, I was told he wouldn’t be in today ma’am.” Coran said hesitantly.

“Very well, I’ll deal with him later. Continue with your chores, we’ll check back on him before we sleep and hopefully by then he’d learn some sense.” Lance’s grandmother said, before she stalked back into the house, Coran following hesitantly, not even going to the abandon bag, scared of what Lance’s grandmother would do if she saw.

“Grandmother, please! Let me out! Grandmother! Gran-” Lance collapsed against the door in a coughing fit, pain wracking his whole body. When it finally stopped and Lance was gasping for breath, he tried to think. His grandmother mentioned modelling. How did she know about that? That was his excuse to Shiro about his real job as a singer. How did she even know he wasn’t on the property, she was supposed to be in her room all day. It couldn’t of been Coran pointing out he was gone. He knew Coran had a ton of things to do in the house. There was no time for him to go outside to check on Lance. Nothing made sense. How did this even happen? “Grandmother, please. Let me out!”

* * *

 

Keith glanced at his phone again, no new notifications. It was strange, he thought Lance would answer quickly when he told him he’d been able to figure out what he wanted his song to be about. Taking Lance’s advice, he had made a list of things that came to mind when thinking of the theme. His mom had made the list and when he questioned with himself why, he had written that he felt like he needed to protect himself in a way that seemed standoffish to some people, but others didn’t see that. Honestly, Keith saw himself as a rose. He had his thorns to try and protect himself but some people were able to get past his thorns. He wondered if it was a bit much for a shampoo commercial but it felt right for some reason. Besides, the message could be taken that those who used the shampoo could be seen as delicate while still being kickass.

He checked his phone again. Nothing. What was taking Lance so long? His thoughts were interrupted by a video call that started buzzing on his open laptop. Seeing his godfather’s name, he accepted and waited for the screen to become clear. Thace already looked like he was on a ship off to his destination. He hadn’t realised he would of left already.

“Working hard?” Thace asked as a greeting.

“Something like that. I think I’m finished with the melody.” Keith replied as he pulled off the red sports headband that was starting to give him a headache, but his bangs in his face would have annoyed him otherwise. “Did you just leave?”

“Yes. I had wanted to say goodbye to Ulaz but he’s with a colleague at a college presentation so I had to leave him a text message. Any chance I can hear the song?” Thace asked.

“Uh yeah, I actually recorded myself singing it with the finished melody. One sec, let me bring it up.” Keith said as he wrapped his headband around his wrist before moving the mouse to music file and opened it to play. While he let Thace listen to it, he picked up his phone again. Still nothing. He didn’t know why, but he felt nervous that Lance hadn’t answered him. He looked out the balcony window to where he could see the drops of rain coming down. Why was he so nervous that Lance hadn’t answered? He probably got caught up with things.

“It sounds good.”

“Hmm?” Oh, right, Thace. “Thanks. Do you think it’s good?”

“I do. Hopefully you can stick to your guns when Lotor goes with you tomorrow to the audition.”

Keith sighed. He was not looking forward to having to spend his day with Lotor. The daddy’s boy was enough of an annoyance. If he tried to disagree with Keith song, Keith was going to throw a fucking fit.

“Like I give a crap what daddy boy thinks. I don’t listen to him anyway.” Keith said looking at his phone

“Expecting a call?” Thace asked.

“Not exactly. I was texting Isamu earlier and he gave me a bit of help in figuring out an idea so I told him I’d text him when I was done with it but he hasn’t answered me at all. I feel nervous, but I’m sure he’s just busy.”

“Probably going over his song or enjoying the rain. It’s said to last through the night.” Thace said

“Yeah. He mentioned he liked listening to the rain. He probably isn’t paying attention to his phone.” Keith didn’t believe that for some reason but it was the only thing keeping him calm.

* * *

 

Pidge was boiling with guilt. How could she do that? Just give away Lance’s secret to his grandmother, like she wouldn’t react badly? She didn’t even stick around, she’d been too focused on getting away so she wouldn’t have to see the reaction to Lance’s secret. She even told Hunk she lost Lance and needed his help looking for him to get him away from the house. She didn’t even know if Lance had the whistle they gave him on hand.

While Hunk was searching for Lance, Pidge’s gaze was focused on the warning page, where the words CM had yet to disappear.

“Go away already! Lance’s grandmother knows, you shouldn’t be there anymore.” She said under her breath, begging for the words to go away so she could go and save Lance from whatever horrors he was facing. Horrors she brought on him. “Stop it Pidge! It was for his own safety, you know it was.”

“Your plans usually tend to go very array don’t they?” a voice said

Pidge stiffened at the sound of the voice. Pidge knew that voice. It was a voice she didn’t want to hear, not ever again after he turned his back on her when she thought she could trust him. She slowly turned and floating behind her was her former partner, Sven.

She had noticed how similar to Shiro Sven looked, his hair much longer than Shiro’s and looking much more serious, but looking at Shiro didn’t fill her with anger and hurt like looking at Sven did. His wolf ears were perk in Pidge’s direction and before where Pidge would want to pet them, all she wanted was to yank on them hard, if only to cause him only the slightest bit of pain she had been feeling since the last time she had seen him.

“What,” she growled, glaring furiously at him, “are you doing here?”

“Down little tiger.” Sven tried to sarcastically appease

“Call me that again, and I will hurt you.” Pidge said, angry that he even thought he could still call her that after what he did. “I asked you a question and I want an answer.”

“There’s a small rumour going around the paediatrics department that Rock Rover used their true power and made friends with a human, who could see them. The head of the paediatrics department asked us to check it out.” Sven said

“Now I know that’s a fucking lie because we have permission from the head to stay here.” Pidge lied. Honestly they didn’t check in as much as they should which was probably why Sven said that, but she wasn’t going to tell him that.

“Really? I guess I got ahead of myself.” Sven said

“Yeah, now leave!” Pidge demanded

“Calm down little, I mean, Pidge. I was happy when we were told to come here-” Sven started but Pidge interrupted

“Wait, we? Who are we?” Pidge asked

“We are ‘we’, at least in this reality.” Suddenly, a green and black looking worm appeared and started wrapping around Sven’s chest. There weren’t many alien Shinigami, but it looked like Sven’s new partner was one. It had about 6 pairs of arms, its mouth an almost orange beak with tuffs of hair onto of its head. Its black bodysuit had pockets for the many hands, which were occupied holding onto Sven’s body.

“This is Slav.” Sven introduced, “we became partners are we…separated.”

“Separated, right. How about you take that new partner of yours and get lost already?” Pidge demanded wanting to be rid of Sven already.

“I want you to come back to the underworld.” Sven stated, leaving Pidge in silence

“Excuse me? Come back with you? I’d rather become a ghost.” Pidge snapped. “I’m on a mission here so do me a favour and get lost already.”

“I noticed there was a backwards word in the warning page. I could help you with that.”

“I do not need your help. I can’t trust you because you don’t care about me. I have someone who cares so get lost, or I’ll call the department head saying your interfering.” Not waiting for an answer, Pidge flew off, not seeing how Sven was staring after her

“Still angry I see. Too bad she doesn’t seem to notice that I know she was lying.”

“Are you going to listen to what she told you about staying away?” Slav asked

“Do I in this reality?”

“No, all it does is really piss her off and in this reality, it messes a lot with the kid and that friend of his.” Slav stated

“Sooner he’s away from music, sooner the little tiger will be back. Besides, when have I ever done what she’s told me to do?”

* * *

 

It was late, almost morning and Hunk hadn’t found Lance anywhere. Pidge had said she’d go back to the house and pretend to be Lance to keep suspicion off and she hadn’t called to say he was back at the house now, which meant he was still missing. Granted she wasn’t answering any messages so he didn’t know much, but something was telling him Lance needed his help.

“Where are you Lance?” Hunk asked out loud, like he needed the heavens to answer to him. Then he heard it. A sharp, piercing whistle, like it was from… “The whistle!” Hunk had forgotten they’d given Lance the whistle so he could call them. He stood up, trying to hear it again when it came again. He started flying to the source as fast as he could, but soon it stopped completely. “No, no, no! Lance, come on, blow it again.” He waited with baited breath to hear the sound again but nothing came. “No! Ugg, where could he be? This is close to the station he get off at but he could be anywhere from here. With Shiro, at the hospital, with Plaxium, at the beach? How am I supposed to find him?”

Then he heard something else. A familiar song, the one that pretty much dragged him into helping Lance.

****_Let's sing a song! itsu demo issho_  
kimi no tame ima no watashi ni dekiru subete  
Day by day kyou made no unmei  
ashita kara no kibou kono mune ni kakae

“Yes! Keep singing Lance, I’ll be right there!” Hunk said as he flew towards the voice he heard. As the song continued he realised he was heading in the direction of Lance’s home. If Lance was there, then why hadn’t Pidge said anything? Why hadn’t she called? Hadn’t she heard the whistle and Lance’s singing?

He followed the voice to the small shed and instead of just phasing through the wall, he let himself crash through the window. He found Lance leaning against the door, his face splotchy from tears, curled up into himself, seeming surprised at Hunk’s appearance. Hunk spotted a familiar whistle far from Lance near a stack of boxes, like it’d been thrown. How long had Lance been here?

“Hunk…” Lance whined before he was up on his feet and in Hunk’s arms, bawling his eyes out, the Shinigami trying to calm him down.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry it took me so long to get here. Are you ok? Are you hurt?” Hunk asked, rubbing his hand up and down Lance’s back, trying to calm him down

“She, she, she found out! How did she find out? How did she know everything?” Lance sobbed into Hunk’s shoulder

“Your grandmother? She found out? And she put you in here?” Hunk asked, stunned Lance’s grandmother would do that. Lance got sick easily. How long was he in here?

“She, she wanted me to promise to near leave the grounds again. I’m suffocating here! I can’t live here anymore! How am I supposed to feel safe here?”

“It’s ok. We’ll take care of it, ok? I promise we’ll take care of everything.” Hunk promised as Lance sobbed into his shoulder for a bit longer. As they started dying down, he felt Lance starting to lean on him heavily. “Lance, are you ok?”

“My head hurts.” He seemed to whisper.

Hunk pulled away so he could feel Lance’s forehead. Even through his gloves he could feel the heat. “It was raining and you’ve been here since yesterday haven’t you?”

Lance weakly nodded, “since before dinner. She came and asked me again to never leave but I said no and she said I’d stay here until I learned.”

Hunk let Lance rest his head back on his shoulder. He never liked Lance’s grandmother, too uptight and too judgemental, not giving Lance any support that didn’t make him feel like he had to hide. He snapped his fingers, turning Lance into his 19 year old self.

“Huh? Why…?” Lance asked, pulling away feeling better obviously.

“If we want to get you out of here, we need you at your best health.”

Lance pushed some of his white hair out of his face when he remembered something. “Hunk, what time is it?”

“Um,” Hunk pulled out his lion shaped cell, “8:30.”

“Hunk, my call back!”

“For the…Lance, is that really priority right now?” Hunk asked

“Yes it is! I don’t know if they picked my bag up and it was raining last night. If I’m lucky, my phone would have slipped into the bottom to be protected more. Oh god.” Lance stressed. “Hunk, you have to go to my room and get my lyrics.”

“Me?”

“I can’t! What if they see me from the house?” Lance said

“How is this more important than getting you out of here? We should just forget the call back.”

“What is it with you and Pidge telling me not to do this audition? You guys both helped me first! If you didn’t think I could do it, then you should of just told me that instead of just encouraging me!” Lance shouted

Hunk floated there, stunned. One part of him was just surprised that Lance was so persistent about this and another part of him was wondering why Pidge would try pulling him out of the audition, even after the huge fuss for her to go with Lance to the first round.

“Hunk, I need to do this, please!” Lance begged

Hunk sighed, “Get to the other side of the wall. Is it in your room?”

“On my desk, hurry! I have to be there by 9!” Lance said as he climbed out the window while Hunk phased through the shed, flying over to Lance’s room. He quickly flew to where the desk, moving stuff around the find that familiar words on a page, but…they weren’t there. He did it as slow as he could but he didn’t see it anywhere. Was it possible his grandmother had it? It just had the lyrics on it but still. The shampoo was hidden in Lance’s bathroom so she wouldn’t make the connection but Hunk felt worried. If it wasn’t in Lance’s room, then where was it?

* * *

 

Keith had to keep his anger in check but Lotor had only been with him only a few minutes and he was already testing his patience.

“Are these really the lyrics you plan to use today?” Lotor asked, Keith taking deep breaths to keep his cool. “How is this supposed to be your best work? To think we even allow you to write your own lyrics.”

“To think I let you still breath with how often you piss me off.” Keith snapped. “Shut up already.”

“Watch your mouth. I can have your entire career ended in an instant.”

“Your daddy is the one who can end my career. All you’ll do is just shoot hot air at me until he signs the papers but my god, at least I’ll be free of having to be around you.” Keith said, not the slightest bit bothered at Lotor’s threats. He dealt with them often enough.

They got off the elevator and reached the floor where the call backs where happening. Keith spotted Allura on her phone talking to someone at the end of the hallway and a staff member wearing a badge with the Mermaid Tear logo on it.

“Red?” the staff member asked

“Yes. Here for my call back. My manager wasn’t able to come with me so I have a fill in.” Keith explains, pointing to Lotor, who looked disgruntled without a proper introduction.

“Excellent. We’re still waiting on Isamu, Prince of Altea to arrive then we can get started. Shall I show you to your greenroom?”

“Just a moment. I wanted to talk to Isamu’s manager for a second first.” Leaving Lotor, he went over to Allura who was hanging up. “Hey, where’s Lance?”

“Not here yet and not answering his phone. Is that Lotor? Where’s Thace?”

“Called in by The Blade. Kinda low on choices obviously. Just ignore him, I do. What about Lance?”

Allura took a deep breath. “Well if we can talk to the judges that his train is late, then maybe they’d be willing to give him extra time.”

“I can tell them I want him to have a chance, but it might only buy him like 5 minutes.” Keith pointed out

“Well then I hope he can get here fast. We can’t expect to baby him through the process. I really hope he doesn’t miss this but if he does.” Allura said, looking over at Keith’s shoulder to see Lotor stalking over to them. “Your new manager is coming.”

“Bail me out when I finally snap.” Keith said, already feeling tense all over again

“I’ll be planning your escape route when the deed is done.” Allura promised as Keith walked over to where Lotor was impatiently waiting.

“Are you done?” Lotor demanded

“My apologizes your highness. Which way to my greenroom?” Keith asked, turning away from Lotor.

“This way.” Keith followed the staff member, watching them pull a set of keys from their belt and unlock a door, turning on the lights for them. “Fridge is fully stocked, the remote for the AC is on the wall. We’ll call you when we’re ready for you.”

“Thank you. Oh, also, any chance I can do my call back first?” Keith could feel Lotor doing a double take at the question but he could care less about him. He wanted a chance to go up against Lance fairly.

“We’ll see.” was all he got as the staff member left the room.

Keith walked over to the table and pulled one of the chairs out when he noticed something sitting on the table. As he picked it up, he noticed the handwriting seemed familiar.

“What’s that?” snatching the paper out of Keith’s hand, Lotor read over the words on the page. “This…this is good. What is this?”

Keith snatched it right back. “It’s not ours.” He looked at the paper again, reminded of the familiar writing he’d stared at while he went to order food for him, Lance and The Rebels when they all went on the yacht. Lance had written everyone’s order down and Keith went to the small restaurant with the written order. He’d looked it over many times in the line, even keeping the paper with him until they got back to the hotel. The paper he was holding was written by Lance. But what was it doing here?

“Tall Ocean?” Lotor read the title on top. “Isn’t that the scent the new prince was given?”

“Same name, what’s your point?”

Lotor snatched the paper back and read it over. “This wouldn’t happen to be that prince’s lyrics would it?”

“And why the hell would it be here?” Keith tried snatching it back but Lotor pulled it away

“These lyrics are good. You should sing them.” Lotor said in a way that was demanding

“And why the hell would I do that?”

“You are going to win this audition, no matter what.”

“Even if it means cheating? Hell no!” Keith stated, glaring at Lotor, who only smiled slimily at him

“I’d listen closely to me if I were you Red. It’s getting rather annoying to put up with your defiance. If it wasn’t for you being one of the biggest artist we have, we’d gotten rid of you long ago and ruined any chance you had of making it without us. But since we can’t do that, we have to use other means, like that darling godfather of yours. Thace's husband, Ulaz wasn’t it?” Keith was sure if he wasn’t already full Galra, his anger would have gotten him there.

Ulaz, who was his godfather and was marrieded to Thace had been in the music business after leaving from being a doctor on The Blades. But Empire Records ripped that away from him as a punishment for Keith. They accused him of selling Empire lyrics to other companies and Ulaz didn’t have to try to know such an accusation would make him unwanted by most companies who wouldn’t want to risk it. He knew Ulaz was happy at his job at the hospital, but the hours were making it hard for the two men he cared for the most to live a happy life when they could barely see each other.

“How the hell would these lyrics even fit my theme anyway?” Keith demanded to know, hoping to find a way out of this

“Your lyrics are about hiding behind thorns. These are about a love that defies instinct. They’ve gotten past your thorns. I don’t care.” Lotor shoved the paper into Keith’s chest. “You’re singing them and if you don’t, your godfather can say goodbye to his job. And trust me, your new manager will not be as kind.”

Keith’s tightened his grip on the paper. He didn’t want to betray Lance like this but…he also didn’t want to lose Thace.

The door to the greenroom opened and a staff member poked their head in. “we just wanted to give you a heads up. Isamu is going to be slightly late due to a delay on the train so we’ve decided he has until Red’s audition is over to get here. Red, we’ll come get you in two minutes. If we could speak to your manager for a moment.”

“Nothing would make me happier.” Giving Keith a smug look, Lotor disappeared off with the staff member, leaving Keith seething and upset. Upset with Lotor and himself. He crumpled up the lyrics that Lance had no doubt spent ages on and threw it across the room. He still had no clue how the lyrics got in the room but the point was, he was about to risk losing Lance to keep Thace around. He wanted to be a little kid again where when things got hard, he’s just go hide in his room until his dad, and later Thace and Ulaz would coax him out of his room when things were alright. But things weren’t like that anymore. He pulled out his phone and quickly dialled Lance’s number, silently begging for him to pick up.

_“This is Lance. I can’t come to the phone right now, so leave me a message. Bye!”_

Voicemail.

“Damn it Lance, pick up!”

_‘Pick up so I don’t lose you because I can’t stand against the company that owns me.’_

* * *

 

Sven watched as the white haired idol ran up the stairs of the escalator, Hunk following.

“I sense a very angry Pidge in this reality.” Slav said

“She probably doesn’t even know the kid is out. If the warning is gone, then she’ll go searching for them but then she’d have to explain where she was to Hunk. If not, then well, just gives us extra time to wreak havoc. We need to get him to miss the audition right? Might as well mess with Hunk while I have the chance.” Sven said, with a mischievous smile on his face.

“I can sense a very angry Pidge.” Was all Slav said as Sven’s eye followed Lance running past a group of performers. With a snap of his fingers, the wire to the amp wrapped around Lance’s ankle, pulling him to the floor.

“Lance! Are you ok?” Hunk asked, helping Lance untangle the wire

“Yeah. I’m fine, sorry!” Lance called as he got up again and continued running. He was late, he had no time to think about anything else.

“Lance look out!” Hunk tried calling when a pair of workers came out carrying a large pane of glass. He crashed into it but not hard enough for it to break and the workers had caught themselves before the glass went toppling over.

“I’m so sorry!” Lance apologized

“Watch where you’re going will you? Darn kids, no respect.” One of the workers mouthed off as Lance took off again.

Only he was stopped again, this time by a runaway cart. If Hunk hadn’t pulled him away, he would have gotten run over. He was so lucky that him suddenly being lifted into the air didn’t seem that strange in a world filled with different aliens and humans.

“What the hell? Why of all times did the universe decide to cause me this much stress? I’m so late right now!” Lance complained as Hunk put him on his feet and he took off once more. While Hunk followed, he was wondering the same as well. This seemed too precise to be random. The closer Lance got to getting to the building where the call backs were being held, the more obstacles came his way. It was almost like something was throwing the obstacles his way.

“Ooh, isn’t he getting just lucky.” Sven said watching Lance practically jump onto the sidewalk when he changed the lights suddenly. “I wonder if Hunk is starting to catch on?” he questioned

“This could be one of the realities where he could. Just know it would end up with you being beaten up by him.” Slav stated

“A risk that I need to take to get Pidge back.” Sven said, scanning for his next target to target Lance with

“Why the sudden want to get her back? Didn’t you ask for a new partner?” Slav asked

“I did.” Was all Sven said as he created a sudden wind gust to fly Lance’s hair out of the way before using a megaphone that allowed regular species to hear him to announce Isamu, Prince of Altea’s presence. Sven was not an idiot, he knew Pidge and Hunk had helped their charge and for a brand new singer to be followed by the Shinigami was evidence enough. It was surprising that their charge was even able to see them, but he could worry about that later. First, he needed to make him miss that audition and judging by the crowd that was following Lance, he would need a miracle to get there on time.

It might not have been a miracle but Hunk was pretty close. While some people shifted through dumpsters to see if Lance was hiding from them, Hunk had pulled Lance into a store and turned him back to himself. Lance immediately felt sick again and Hunk was quick to pull him as close to the building as he could before changing him back, not wanting to risk Lance passing out on him. Another dashing spree when Isamu was spotted again finally, _finally_ , lead them to the building where the call back.

As the doors of the elevator closed, separating Lance from the insane fans, Lance let his back hit one of the walls and slid down onto the floor, breathing heavily. He would not complain about how popular he was in what had been only a few short months, but he could do without the fans that’d chase him if he didn’t have company bodyguards near.

“We’re almost there Lance. You said you can remember the lyrics from memory?” Hunk asked, leaning against another wall as the elevator started going up.

Lance nodded, “I even recorded myself on my phone. God, what the hell was that getting here? It’s like the world is against me somehow. My grandmother finds out, I’m late for my call back, my lyrics are missing, everything seemed to stall me trying to get here. Who was that who even called me out?”

Hunk wondered that too. white hair on an Altean wasn’t normal now a days compared to the different range of colours so Lance could have been recognised by anyone but they had been in a taxi, on a train and halfway to the building without anyone noticing Lance. The voice though…it sounded so familiar. Hunk knew that voice but he couldn’t put a face to the voice.

“Hunk?” the yellow eared Shinigami looked down at Lance, “thank you. For doing this, I mean. I know you have every right to be worried about me, but I want to do this, so bad.”

Hunk sighed as he gave Lance a knowing smile and crouched down next to him. “I know. Just promise me that if by some chance we can get through this, you go to Shiro. You’re sick and your grandmother shut you up in a shed all night, he needs to know.”

“I’ll tell him I promise.” just then the elevator shuttered to a stop. “No, no, no! No, come on! Not now, we’re so close!” Lance said, looking around the dimmed elevator. “Why is this happening?” Lance practically screamed

Hunk wasn’t about to let this stop them, not now. “Come on, get up. We’re getting out of here.” He pulled Lance up onto his feet and picked him up in his arms. The wings on his bag started to glow.  With a jump, he phased himself and Lance out of the elevator and up the shaft. He’d get Lance to the call back, no matter what.

* * *

 

When Allura’s string of calls to Lance was interrupted by a call from Shiro, part of her felt worried. Lance wasn’t here and Shiro was his guardian, so logically it had to be a cause for concern if Shiro called her directly.

_“Is Lance with you?”_ was the first thing Shiro asked when Allura picked up

“No, he was supposed to be here but he’s late. Why?”

Shiro was silent on his end before speaking, _“Lance doesn’t live with me, he lives with his grandmother. She found out about Lance’s job. She…locked him in the shed overnight. He wasn’t there this morning and we can’t find him anywhere.”_

Locked in a shed? “Wh-what? Are you serious? Have the police been called?”

_“I’m more worried about finding Lance then lecturing his grandmother on how to discipline. Do you have any idea where he’d be? He gets out more because of his job.”_

“Um well,” Allura looked over to Keith, who stood inside the sound booth singing achingly beautiful lyrics. “There is someone I think he’d go to except that person is working right now and Lance knows this.”

_“Damn it. I didn’t want to say this because I know Lance begged me not to, but Lance, he has throat cancer. The conditions he was in would no doubt cause him to be sick by now. His body would be too weak to handle all of that.”_

Shiro was saying something else but all Allura could focus on was the throat cancer part. Lance, the talent she was a manager for, who had done tons of performances where he sang his heart out, loudly, had throat cancer?

“What did you say? Lance has what?” she interrupted almost breathlessly

_“Shit, look where are you? This is something that I should explain in person.”_

Allura stumbled over the name of the building, trying to wrap her head around what she now knew. That couldn’t be right. It just couldn’t.

“-ura. Ms. Allura? Ms. Allura!” snapping out of her stupor Allura looked at the main judge who was supposed to be listening to Lance and Keith’s songs. “Is Isamu nearby?”

_“Allura?”_ right, Shiro.

“Let me know when you get here.” She told Shiro before hanging up and quickly scanning through her messages.

Nothing.

She shook her head. “There’s no answer. I don’t know where he is.”

Keith, who was out of the sound booth, spoke. “Is there any chance we can wait like, 5 minutes? It doesn’t seem right that a delayed train doesn’t give him a chance. It didn’t even take long…for us to create a beat to the song.”

“How is that even fair?” Lotor scoffed. “You were here on time.”

“Well I’m asking because I think he deserves a chance.” Keith snapped back.

The judge shook his head. “I’m sorry. Red wins by default. Granted if he gets here before we announce it to the press, then maybe I’ll let him. The song is recorded right?” the judge asked the sound engineer, who nodded, “good. Get it on a CD; I want to play a snippet of it at the press release. Congrats Red. Shall we talk details?”

“Not with him.” Keith said, glaring at Lotor, “he’s not my manager, he’s just filling in.”

“Just you and I then. Come.”

Allura watched Keith leave the room, not seeming that happy that he won, but she ignored that quickly. It seemed like hours until Shiro got there and she got the whole story. Lance had a weak body, just like his mom and just like his grandmother, making him so susceptible to colds and such. The cancer was just the icing on the cake.  How was Lance able to sing? He’d been doing this for months and Allura never saw him in pain and he didn’t disappear after getting off stage. He seemed fine, normal, _healthy_. How could she of missed this?

When she spotted white hair running for the conference room, Allura couldn’t move fast enough. She watched Lance sink to his knees as he watched Keith stand in front of flashing camera as they announced that he would be their spokesmodel of the shampoo. Lance noticed Keith’s thankful smile seemed strained

“Lance!” he looked over to see Allura running over to him, looking frantic.

“Allura. I’m so, so sorry I was late. I should have called you but-”

He was interrupted by her as loudly as she could without getting the attention of the press inside the room. “Why didn’t you tell me you have throat cancer?”

Stunned, Lance eyes go from Allura, to Shiro who’s standing a distance away.

No.

No.

This wasn’t happening.

“And now, we’d like to give you a sneak preview of the song that will be featured in the commercial, which was written by Red.”

The melody was obviously different but…Lance knew those lyrics. He’d spent the whole of the night before and yesterday morning writing them. Why was Keith singing them? Had Keith stolen them? Had…Keith been playing with him?

“Shiro, we need to get him to a hospital.” Allura said, turning to Shiro

“And by him, you mean Isamu, Prince of Altea?” Shiro asked confused

“Of course I mean him. You came looking for Lance didn’t you?”

“This isn’t my Lance. You’ve met him.” Shiro said

Just then, Keith looked past all the flashing lights to see Lance staring at him, his face full of betrayal and confusion. Ignoring the sudden questions and Lotor’s yelling, Keith jumped off the stage and pushed through the crowd to get to Lance.

“That’s my song.” Lance said as he watched Keith get off the stage. Everything was ruined now wasn’t it? His grandmother knew about his job, Allura and Shiro were in the same room trying to find what they were sure were 2 different people, Keith had stolen his lyrics. He couldn’t reach Akira now, not anymore. Before anyone could stop him, Lance turned away from everything and ran off.

“Lance!” Allura called after him.

“Isamu, wait!” Keith was finally able to get through the crowd but was stopped with a pair of hands on his chest.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a second. What was he saying about his lyrics? I thought those lyrics sounded too close to his theme. Did you steal them?” Keith couldn’t get an answer out quickly enough before Allura interrupted him. “Never mind, I don’t need an answer. I thought I could trust you, but apparently you’re just like everyone else at Empire.” Allura turned away from him and tried going after Lance but was stopped when a line of potted trees blocked her.

“What the hell is going on here?” Shiro asked

That was a question many people were asking at that moment.


	12. The Prince's decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'd think with the amount of time I've had, that I would of watch s8 by now, but I haven't. I've heard people didn't enjoy it and that has me partially scared, and I also know that no matter what, there's gonna be something that causes some mental breakdown of trying to figure out what just happened. I will watch it, before Christmas, just so I can spend Christmas watching DC's Titans. So keep it spoiler free in the comments guys.

Hunk folded the blanket into Lance’s suitcase. How did things get like this? How did he end up sneaking back into Lance’s room to pack up all his things before Lance’s grandmother could come from the main house back over here, like she was still looking for him? He was angry at her, totally. She locked her sick grandchild in a shed. He closed the suitcase and zipped it closed, looking around to make sure the things Lance told him to get, he hadn’t forgotten. It looked like he got everything. Picking it and the small duffle bag up, Hunk phased out of the room and was heading to the wall when he remembered the whistle. It had still been in the shed when he got Lance out. He quickly went to the shed where he found the whistle still on the floor. As he picked it up, he glanced at a small wooden box. He didn’t know why, but something was telling him to pick it up. It looked newer than anything else in the shed, the rope that held it closed not frayed by age. He couldn’t explain why, but he shoved it into Lance’s duffle along with the whistle and flew off.

Before he knew it, he was at the beach. There was a small lighthouse that stood in the sand and hidden in the small room at the bottom was Lance. They had been getting too much attention when Lance left still looking like Isamu, so as much as Hunk didn’t want to, he turned Lance back. Lance was still curled up in a corner, Hunk’s vest over him, his own bag being used as a pillow. There was no way that was comfortable. Dropping Lance’s stuff down, he pulled out the same blanket he’d cover Lance in before when he’d been song writing and covered him again, pulling off his own bag to let Lance use as a pillow. Lance groaned, letting Hunk know he was awake

“Are you hungry?” Lance shook his head. Not good, Lance couldn’t have eaten since the day before since he was out with Pidge. He had to be sicker than Hunk thought.

“You haven’t eaten all day and you’re sick. We should call Shiro.” Hunk suggested but Lance shook his head.

Hunk let out an annoyed huff as he ruffled his hair, making his cat eared headband push back, making some of his bangs fall in his face. He needed help to even convince Lance but Pidge was nowhere to be found.

_‘Where the hell is she anyway? She was supposed to be with Lance and she wasn’t even there when I found Lance. Where could she of disappeared to? It’s not like she would have up and left us, right?’_

Hunk didn’t know what to think honestly. Things were a gigantic mess and he felt lost on what to do.

* * *

 

**“We’ve just spotted the car of Isamu, Prince of Altea’s manager leaving Altea Records. We still have no word on what’s going on and no answer to the question everyone is now asking, has the Prince quit? He was last seen running from the building where the Mermaid Tear Shampoo call-backs were being held after it was announced that the singer Red would be they’re new spokesmodel. Some have pointed out that it seems like Red and the Prince are good friends so it’s confusing as to why he would take off after hearing such news. We have no comments from Red either so only time will tell us answers.”**

Pidge started at the jumbotron in the middle of Tokyo where the story of Lance’s sudden disappearance was replaying on so many different talk shows and celebrity gossip shows.

“I hope I was a big help.” That voice said from behind her.

Pidge tightened her fist and she summoned her green katar and spun around, stopping it from reaching Sven’s face only moments before it hit. “What did you do?” She growled. “I told you to get lost and now Lance is missing!”

“So that’s his name, Lance.”

The blade of katar started to glow green and spark started to shoot off from it. Pidge wasn’t in the mood for games. “Answers or I start slicing. Don’t think I won’t.” she threatened

“Easy there. I just did what you should of. Helping a human like that, you could be stripped of your powers as a Shinigami and dragged down or even be turned into a ghost. A complete rookie like Hunk would totally become a ghost, left to wonder around, not be seen by anyone. Not you or me or even Lance. Pulling your charge away from all this would allow him to come quietly. No career he’d be leaving, no friends to say goodbye to. I’d be surprised if he even talked to some of his friends now that all his dreams have been destroyed.”

Pidge pulled her hand back and swiped at Sven who flew out of range but that didn’t stop Pidge as she released the trigger that shot the blade out to wrap itself around Sven. Pidge jerked the rope back to her, pulling Sven closer as she grabbed onto his bangs and pulled, hard. “This isn’t your case so you don’t get to make the discussions! I know Lance and I know his relationship with Red. He might have been upset that he was late but he wouldn’t run out like that. What did you do?”

Wincing at the feeling of his hair being ripped out, Sven gritted out, “it was partially your fault. It was your letter that kept him away from his room long enough for me to get his lyrics. Bet you didn’t know he’d been stuck there overnight. Looks like your little confession really pissed his grandmother off.”

Pidge’s eyes widened and her distraction gave Sven the opportunity to break out of the hold she had, pushing her back.

“Don’t look so mad at me. You should have never gotten involved in this, letting him live this dream. For what? So he could be popular for a year before he dies?” Sven sneered. “I’m helping you, even if you don’t realise it. Me giving those lyrics to that singer and stalling the kid long enough for him to lose it all is a good thing.”

“You’re wrong!” Pidge shouted, more mad at herself than before. How could she be so stupid? This was her fault. “Lance isn’t doing this to be popular. All he wants is for someone to hear his song, to hear what he has to say. Seeing you again makes me realise that I had that until you broke my trust for no reason. I felt like I needed someone to hear me and I thought I had you but I didn’t! You left me, just when I gave you my full trust and Hunk…Hunk was there. He was new and lost and he didn’t have to but he was there. I feel like an idiot for not noticing it now, but even though I thought that this would be a risk, I wanted to help. I wanted to help because Lance was like me. I know I’m to blame for what happened, but I’m not going to allow you to waltz up with your fake wants to having me back just so you can ruin everything again. I know you. I’m going to fix my mistakes and I’m not going to let you just come and act like you know better because you don’t. Not about Lance. He isn’t just some case that needs to be finished. He’s a kind person who only wants one thing more than anything and honestly, he’s suffered too much not to get it. You can report me and Hunk if you want, but I won’t allow you to do to him what you did to me.” releasing the trigger again, she attacked Sven again, getting close when he dodged before she retracted the blade back into place. “I’ll only tell you this once, you try hurting Lance like you did today and I won’t stop until I cut you to pieces. And you had better hope I get to you before Hunk does. He doesn’t like you period so I know he won’t hesitate to end you.” With that, Pidge flew off to go do what she should of done hours ago, find Lance and Hunk.

Sven watched her fly off. He knew she’d be upset but he hadn’t realised how much. He knew she was telling the truth about ending him, he could see it in her eyes.

“I told you she’d be upset in this reality.” Slav said, sounding like the know it all he thought he was.

“Oh be quite. It’s funny, I’ve never seen her like this. I guess I am to blame for this after all.” Sven said as he glanced over to the jumbotron where another story of Lance was being shown. He’d only seen this Lance as the healthy 19 year old Altean and not as the 16 year old human with cancer he was supposed to be according to his case file. But he was curious, just who was this human to be able to cause two Shinigami to break the rules?

“Are we going to report them?” Slav asked, letting his body drape over Sven’s shoulders.

“No,” he replied, “we were just supposed to find out why they weren’t reporting back as often. But we’re not as busy in our department so we can afford to stay. I want to get to know this Lance.”

* * *

 

Lance’s head still felt woozy as he woke up. The sun was setting but he felt warm under his blanket. He pushed it off as he got up, looking around for Hunk.

**_Doushite konna ni suki nan darou_**  
**_Kimi no koe kanshii hodo hibiiteru yo_**  
**_Ima made nani ga sasae datta ka_**  
**_Tooku hanarete wakatta yo_**

Lance blinked. He knew that song. It was his song, but who was singing it? Getting up on wobbly feet, he walked out of the lighthouse and out on the sand. There, he could see Hunk, minus his bag, vest and headband, loudly singing Lance’s song.

**_Nakinagara sagashi tsuduketa_**  
**_maigo no kodomo no you ni_**  
**_Kedo soko ni ha eien nante aru wake nakute_**  
  
**_dare mo shinjinakereba iin da yo_**  
**_tsubuyaita ne_**  
**_Futari niteru no kana?_**  
**_Ano toki kimi wo mamoru to kimeta no ni_**

Hunk was really good. He never knew Hunk could sing. With how much he talked about singing and music, Lance felt like it should have been obvious. Maybe it should have been but he didn’t know anything about Hunk’s life before…

_“When I realised that such a singer had existed, I was happy because I hadn’t heard such a thing since I was alive.”_

_“Alive? What do you mean alive? You were human?”_

_“Of course I was human. What, did you think Shinigamis were just willed into being?”_

_“I don’t know. I mean, there’s an anime about Shinigami that makes it seem like they’re spirits who rose into power.”_

_“If they’re spirits that committed suicide, then yes.”_

Right, Hunk had been human but he ended his life. Seemed almost ironic that a suicide victim would become a Shinigami.

_‘Was Hunk a singer before he died? Is that why he wants me to be a true person when singing?’_

“Lance?” Lance blinked and saw Hunk had stopped singing and was looking at him. without his bag with wings, Hunk couldn’t fly to him, but he was able to run to him in no time. “How are you feeling?

“You sing really well.” Lance said instead of answering

“Huh? Oh thanks. I mean I was a singer when I was alive.”

Lance blinked at him, his fever ridden mind processing that. “You were a singer?”

“Yes, now answer my question. How are you feeling?”

Lance looked down trying to make sense of how he was feeling. Betrayed was one of them. Confused was another. Scared was defiantly in the mix as well as anxious. There were others but those were the ones he could put names to.

“I don’t know.” Lance answered

“How about we focus more health wise then mental?” Hunk suggested seeing how he might get more of an answer that way

“I’m thirsty, a bit hungry, my head is still woozy and I feel like if I breathe too deeply, I’ll start coughing. But I’m still not going to see Shiro. How am I supposed to explain this whole situation to him and Allura? Tell them about you and Pidge? And speaking of which, where the hell is she?”

“That’s a good question.” Hunk thought out loud as he turned Lance around and pushed him back into the lighthouse. “When did you last see her because she told me that she lost sight of you.”

“Lost sight? Pidge ran off on me. she told me she didn’t think I had any chance at the audition and said I should drop it and when I told her no, she took off. Then I went home where my grandmother was waiting for me.” Lance said sitting where he’d been sleeping and wrapping himself in his blanket

Hunk stared at Lance. Pidge had lied to him? But why? And where was she when Hunk and Lance were going through those insane events? Those oddly coincidently stalling events that followed them the whole way to the call-backs. That hadn’t been Pidges voice that called them out, so whose was it?

“Hunk?” Lance said, “I know that everything is a mess but…I want to sing. I don’t want to leave my dream, the one thing I wanted to accomplish before I died. Grandmother will never support me and Shiro and Allura have every right to be angry at me but still, I want this. So bad.”

Hunk smiled down at Lance, putting his hand on his head. “I know Lance. you know why I was singing your song?” Lance shook his head. “Because that song touched me, just like it’s done so many others. It’ll reach Akira before you know it. I promised I’ll be there, so I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”

Eyes watering, Lance pulled Hunk into a hug, squeezing tight when Hunk patted him on the head.

“I thought you said you wouldn’t help me with my dream at the expense of my health.” Lance said

“Oh trust me, I’m not changing you at all until you at least get better, preferably with Shiro as your doctor.” Hunk stated. “We’re not going to get very far if you don’t get something to eat.”

“I put all my spare cash on my train card. Everything else I’d usually hide went onto my account.” Lance said

Hunk sighed, “they’d trace your card if you used it. I take it you’re not ready to meet with them just yet?” Lance shook his head. “Ok. I think I saw a drinks vending machine. I think I could phase a bottle of water out without getting caught.

“Don’t bother.” Hunk and Lance looked to the door, where a small green eared Shinigami was floating. She lifted the bag in her hand. “Think I’d get in trouble with headquarters for stealing food with my powers?”

“Pidge? Where the hell have you been? Do you have any idea what we’ve been through for the past almost 2 days?” Hunk asked, staring his duo partner down. 

She looked away from him ashamed as she held out the bag. “Let Lance eat first. I’ll explain after." Hunk looked like he didn't want to wait for answers but Lance tugged on the back of his shirt and gave him a look. Lance wanted answers as well but they needed to focus on the fact that Lance needed food. Besides, it looked like Pidge would bolt at sudden questions before she was ready.

Pidge might have stolen from a conbini but she seemed to grab things that wouldn't be considered bad if gone missing. Bottles of water, one can of ginger tea Lance would drink when he was sick and different flavours of onigiri. Lance picked up one of the salmon ones and started to pull the points on the packaging apart to get the nori out of its separate sleeve and onto the rice before he took a bit. He hadn't eaten in a while and he knew to stuff his face would be bad.

Over the crunch of his nori and the packaging moving, it was completely silent. Hunk was staring Pidge down, who was looking at her lap, leaving Lance to awkwardly look at them both. It was like being in a room with Shiro and his grandmother when Lance first rejected the idea of the surgery. Shiro didn't want to push him but his grandmother did and Lance was left feeling unsure of what to do at that moment. It was just like but it felt worse because, well, it was Pidge and Hunk. He took a sip of water and decided to break the silence. The sooner they got answers, the better.

"Pidge, do you think can tell us what happened after you disappeared? Both Hunk and I have different stories from you and with the insanity that happened, I just want something that makes sense.”

“I think it’ll just hurt you more.” Pidge said

"Pidge, please?" Lance asked.

Pidge sighed. She didn't want to tell Lance the huge mistake she had made but she had a whole mess of things that Lance was forced to deal with.

"Before I explain things, there's something you should know. You've heard me tell Rover to pull up the handbook. In it, there's a page that gives us warning words that would change your fate and sometimes a word will come backwards and that means it's a warning that will bring your death closer."

“You mean like the camera one?” Hunk asked

“Camera? Wait, you mean the paparazzi who was stalking me? That guy could have led me to being killed earlier?” Lance clarified

“I guess Hunk and Keith had been able to stop him. Then after you got back from summer performance thing at the hotel, the words CM came up in the book, backwards.” Pidge said

“Backwards? Why didn’t you tell me anything?” Hunk demanded

“I know you Hunk. Be serious, tell me you wouldn’t of tried to fix things on your own because I you would of. What you did with the photographer had been so stupid!” Pidge snapped

“How was it stupid? Lance was fine!” Hunk yelled back

“How did you know the guy wouldn’t try attacking Lance in desperation when you two played your little prank?” Pidge pointed out.

“I could have protected him.”

“We may be gods of death, but we’re not gods Hunk. You don’t know what could have happened. We stop these things from happening before they have a chance.”

“And how did you stop this from happening? You’re the one who insisted on joining him!” Hunk yelled

“You think I didn’t want him to succeed? I’m not heartless!” Pidge yelled back, Lance really starting to feel awkward. “It’s just…it’s not that I didn’t believe in you Lance, but I honestly thought they’d choose someone else based on experience. But I couldn’t help just trying to help and give you support that when you did get it, I felt so proud and then I remembered the warning. I was hoping to convince you to drop it on that day but you were so ready and I couldn’t risk anything, so…”

“You left a letter for my grandmother? And you told her everything?” Lance stated, now understanding how his grandmother found out. “Wait, why did you say modelling?”

“Compared to singing, it’s not nearly as bad. She would have had to lift your punishment eventually right?”

Lance shook his head. “Not my grandmother. I would of stayed locked in that room forever. It was only a matter of time.”

“So please tell me how this brilliant plan of yours actually saved his life because last I remember, Lance is sick from being stuck in that shed all night. It was freezing after the rain they had that night.” Hunk said, trying to understand what Pidge had done.

“I know his grandmother is horrible but I didn’t think she would leave him in there all night! Trust me, if I had any idea she’d do that, I would have never said a word.” Pidge said and Lance could see she was looking regretful.

“What about Lance’s lyrics? Did you go handing those out too?” Hunk demanded

Pidge shook her head. “That wasn’t me. I only told his grandmother about what Lance did. I never gave his lyrics out.”

“Then how the hell did Keith get a hold of them?”

“Keith? Keith had your lyrics?” Pidge asked. So that’s who Sven gave them to but the fact that he used them. That was more surprising. No wonder Lance had run away.

“Well? I’m waiting for an answer.” Hunk demanded

Pidge sighed, not wanting to say anything but finally did. “It was Sven. He’s here and causing trouble.”

“You mean the asshole who – him, he’s here?” Pidge nodded. “Ok, fine. Let’s forget about the lyrics and – wait a second!” it seemed like Hunk wouldn’t finish a full thought. “That was his voice! I knew I recognised it! He’s the one who had all those fans chasing us. He was the reason for all those sudden stalling moments. That asshole! Why the hell didn’t you say something?”

“What was I supposed to say?” Pidge snapped

“How about the truth? How am I supposed to trust you when you lied to me and cause all this to happen?”

“Stop!” Lance yelled, Pidge looking stung at Hunk’s words. “Just stop. If I wanted to listen to nothing but arguing, I would have stayed with my grandmother. Pidge, I’m upset that you didn’t tell me. I wish you did. We could have figured something out, but…I’m not angry with you. I could be, but it wouldn’t solve anything. I’ll need time to fully trust you again but, I forgive you. You doing what you did, it made me realise that my grandmother won’t support me, even if it means ruining our relationship.” it was something he never wanted to think about but it seemed like he wouldn’t have a choice. “I’ll go see Shiro and Allura. Not right now, but they deserve an explanation. I know you two are at odds right now, but I need you two to help me prove what I’m telling them as truth.”

Hunk looked like he didn’t want to be around Pidge but he nodded anyway. Lance glanced over at his bag that was buzzing again. He was surprised his phone had yet to die yet. He was sure it was one of three people: Shiro, Allura or Keith. Honestly, he didn’t want to talk to Keith right now. He didn’t know why Keith would do that. He never even thought Keith could do that, but there had been the proof, with his lyrics being sung by Keith. And here he told Nyma that he could never think Keith would do anything to hurt him. Apparently he was wrong.

* * *

 

Shiro sat in Allura’s apartment confused as to why he was here. He had finally, _finally_ , gotten a call from Lance. he asked him to meet him at Allura‘s apartment. Thing was, last time he meet with Allura, she was telling him that the new singer, Isamu, Prince of Altea, was his Lance. But that Lance was a 19 year old Altean. She had meet Lance, how could she tell him that was the Lance he was worried about. When he’d gotten the call from Lance’s grandmother that Lance was missing, he was worried. Really worried. With the days being hot and the nights being cold, Lance was bound to catch a cold. Then Coran told him the worst thing. His grandmother had found out about his modelling job and locked Lance in the shed until he promised to never leave the grounds again. Lance had gone missing the morning after those events. He had no clue what had been going through her mind to even think about doing that as a punishment. Not with Lance, not with how sick he would get. Maybe that’s why he was here with Allura - who seemed as nervous as he was feeling, with how much pacing she was doing – he was waiting for Lance to finally show up. He needed to see him again safe and sound with his own eyes before he could question anything else.

He stood up when he heard the doorbell ring and followed Allura who went to the door and pushed it open.

“Jeremy?”

“Lance!”

The 16 year old stood in front of him, his duffle bag sitting on his suitcase and he looked pale but overall, fine. That's all Shiro cared about, Lance still alive and breathing. Anything else he could fix but seeing him standing in front of his own eyes was what he needed.

“Lance, where have you been?” Shiro demanded to know

“Wait, hang on. This isn’t the Lance I know. Isn't this his younger brother?” Allura asked feeling confused

“I can explain everything, because I am technically who you guys are looking for. Um, can I come in?”

While she was confused, Allura could see Lance needed to sit down, so she opened the door wider, taking his suitcase so Lance could get in. Shiro pushed Lance into a seat and started to slip into doctor mood when Lance stopped him.

“I need you not to be my doctor for a second and listen to me please. This whole thing is gonna be confusing and insane to explain but I need you to just be quite and listen to me please.” Shiro slowly nodded and sat on the couch across from him, next to Allura who still looked confused. “Ok. Allura, you should first know that I have sarcoma, which basically means I’ve got a tumour, which is sitting in my throat on my vocal cords. Being a singer is the one thing I want to do because of my parents, my dad being in The Paladins but obviously because of my cancer, I can’t. Shiro you remember how the day you tried convincing me to get surgery again, I wanted you to take me to an audition?” Shiro nodded, “well, I went anyway, because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have gotten the chances I have now.

Lance unzipped his duffle bag and Pidge and Hunk flew out, surprising the two adults. “The reason I decided to do the audition anyway was because I was told that....I only have a year left to live.”

“What? Who told you that?”

“Just listen to me ok? I met two Shinigami who changed my life and helped me gain my dream.”

“Shinigami?” Allura questioned

Lance nodded, “when they told me that I only had a year left, I thought the Altea Records auditions was my only chance left so I snuck out of the house and went. Obviously, at first they didn’t let me through because I had on my application that I was 19 and I don’t look 19. So Hunk helped me.” Lance said, looking over at Hunk, who perched himself on the arm of Lance’s chair, Pidge on the top behind him. “He was able to give me the ability to change from my 16 year old self to the 19 year old that you know me to be. They might look like plush animals that I’ve been carrying around, but it’s the only way everyone else can see them because in their normal forms, I’m the only person who can see them. It's probably one of the reasons they help me. I know it’s hard to believe me because you can’t see them, but I need you to because if not, I will never be able to sing again.”

“Ok, wait, I want to believe you but this story, even for the kind of world we live in, seems too fantastical.” Allura said

“Well, if they need proof, might as well give it to them.” Hunk said.

Knowing he was right, Lance stood up. “I know you don’t believe me, but this is the truth. Hunk?” with a snap of his fingers and the usual odd feeling, Lance felt his body change until he was in what he felt as his 19 year old body. The stunned looks on the faces of Shiro and Allura proved that they had seen the change in him. “This is me, as Isamu, Prince of Altea.”

“Wait, if you’re Altean, then doesn’t that mean you can change your appearance?”

“Are you serious?! You’re Altean and even you know that’s not how an Altean changes!” Pidge yelled, shooting up, causing Allura to jolt back.

“Allura, you know that what we’re seeing is the truth. It makes so much more sense now why you kept trying to get me to listen to the song now. I feel like an idiot now for not recognising the voice. But to say that Lance only has a year left to live, that I refuse to accept. I can’t allow Lance to continue singing to stress his voice even more.”

“It’s ok actually. When Lance is 19, he’s perfectly healthy.” Hunk explained. “You can give him a check-up like this if you don’t believe me.”

“See, I'm perfectly ok. Shiro, please let me continue doing this.” Lance begged

“I can’t let you do that Lance.” Shiro said

“Why not? Shiro, I don’t have much time left. You know me better than anyone else, you know how much singing means to me! I want to spend the time I have left trying to get my feelings to Akira.”

“Lance!” Shiro started but stopped himself.

“Hey, Lance. Trust me, this whole situation is confusing but I made you a promise. I’m going to help you get to Akira. Shiro please, I know this is a lot to take in but it’s for Lance. Can’t you at the very least just let him do this?” Allura said, walking over to Lance

Shiro closed his eyes, his hands tightening into fists, before he spoke. “I need time to think about this. Lance, you know that I will do whatever I need to keep you happy but this is your life we’re talking about here. I want to help you achieve your dreams while also keeping you alive, because don’t for a minute think I'll let you die next year. No matter what any Shinigami says. I need to believe that you’ll be ok, especially with what you’ve been through.” Lance wanted to protest more, but he knew he couldn’t. It was for his own safety that Shiro needed to think this through. “There’s also something else that’s more important we have to deal with. Lance, do you want to use the Shouto Guardianship law against your grandmother?”

That’s right. Lance had forgotten about that law.

“Shouto Guardianship? Doesn’t that allow minors to remove themselves from their guardian?” Allura asked, trying to remember where she had heard the name of that law before.

“It’s more for those with medical issues that require hospital visits. Lance has sarcoma which allows him to fall under this law and his grandmother locked him in the shed overnight when she knows his body is weak.” Shiro explained

“What? She did what? Lance, are you ok?” Allura asked, turning to Lance, concerned

Lance nodded, “I’m mostly fine. I just…I kinda forgot that law existed. I never thought I’d ever use it to get away from my grandmother. I didn’t realise her hate for music would ever cause her to act like that.”

“She shouldn’t do that to you regardless!” Allura stated, trying not to think what Lance had been through.

“It’s your choice Lance. Once I inform her, I’m obligated to put the paperwork in immediately. You’d be the only one to change anything.” Shiro told him

Lance knew all of this. He was informed of all this once he came under Shiro’s care as his doctor. They had both been so sure Lance would never have to activate his right with that law, but now…Lance had been serious when he told Hunk he couldn’t take it anymore.

“I will.” Lance said. “I’ll do it.”

“Is it ok if he stays here? I’ll be busy filing the paperwork and I don’t want him alone.” Shiro asked Allura

“Yes, of course.” Allura immediately agreed

“Alright. I have to go inform your grandmother of your choice.” Shiro said, gathering his things

“Wait, Shiro. When your there can you give her something for me?” Lance asked. He went to his bag and riffled through it for a while before pulling out the item and handing it to Shiro, who took it hesitantly

“Are you sure?” Lance nodded. “Alright. I’ll give it to her. Please keep your cell phone on. I’ll call you after I’ve told her. Is there anything else you want me to get from the house?” Lance shrugged. “Alright then. I’ll see you soon. Stay safe ok and you need anything, call me.”

* * *

 

“The Shouto Guardianship Law? Lance is waving that?” Haurhi Kurogane, grandmother of Lance Kurogane-McClain sat at the table, staring down Takashi Shirogane, who was hiding how disappointed he was in her, but not well enough. She could tell and she understood. What had she been thinking? Lance was the only thing left of her daughter that she had. She hated the man who had stolen Mio from her but she couldn’t hate Lance. He was a sweet boy when she first met him, full of bright smiles and childish curiosity. She promised herself that she would protect him and now look what she did. Her hatred for music had caused another family member to leave. Music took everything from her, but she could admit she was part of the problem.

“I don’t mean to rub salt in your wounds, but you did lock Lance, who’s body is as weak as your daughter’s was and what your own had once been, in a shed, overnight when the temperature dropped because of the rain. It’s no surprise he got sick.” Shiro reminded, Coran flinching at the tone the doctor had used. The housekeeper wish he had protested more. Then Lance would have never been in that situation and disappeared.

Haruhi took shuttering breaths, trying not to burst into tears. She knew what she had done. If Lance felt safer away from her, then she had no choice keeping him stuck to her. “If that is what he wants, then so be it.”

“I know you love Lance and you only want what’s best for him and as of right now, this is it. I have to now go and fill out the paperwork and I’ll be back with the papers you have to sign.”

“Most of his things are gone from his room but Coran will take you there to see if there’s anything else for him. I’m going to my room to rest.”

“Of course. Oh, before I forget, Lance asked me to give this to you.” Shiro pulled out the item from his blazer and slid it over for Haruhi.

“A CD?” Isamu, Prince of Altea’s _Myself_ CD to be exact. Lance knew it would be a huge risk in terms of whether or not his grandmother would accept it, but he wanted her to listen to his song, if only for a moment. “But I hate music.”

“I know, but Lance really wanted you to have it. You don’t have to listen to it, but I know it would make him happy for you to have this.

Hesitantly, Haurhi picked it up, gazing down at the prince she didn’t know her grandson to be. “Tell him I said thank you and that I’m sorry.”

What she had done would haunt her for the rest of her years, she knew that. But she would do whatever possible to earn his forgiveness and trust again.


	13. The fogiveness of a Prince

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Christmas Eve! As a present, expect a chapter tomorrow! I've still got another secret santa fic to finish so leave comments as my present. [This](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uafJpeeCwTw) is the song Keith sings. I hope you enjoy.

Lance hit the ignore button on another one of Keith’s calls. In the long list of missed calls from Shiro and Allura when he’d been missing, he also had calls from Keith. Lance hadn’t hesitated to delete all notifications and waiting voicemails. Lance didn’t want to hear it, whatever Keith was going to tell him. Lance was still hurt with what happened and while it would be nice to have answers, Lance didn’t want them, not now.

“Ok, my bed is free so you can go into my room now. I really hope Shiro doesn’t get totally upset I’m making you sleep on the pull-out couch.” Allura said, walking from her room and through the living room where Lance was laying back on the couch, the bed already pushed back from when he woke up that morning.

“I’ve slept on futons most of my life, you’re fine.” Lance said, dropping his phone on one of the side tables. “Is Altea Records still dealing with me not being there?”

“A lot of rescheduling or cancelling and apologizing but as far as anyone knows, you got violently ill suddenly and need time to recover. Don’t worry about a thing. Your manager has got it all taken care of. I will be back late tonight because I have a meeting with the head of the record, who you will have to meet with once you are cleared.” Allura explained as she filled her travel mug with coffee.

“If Shiro even clears me to ever get on a stage again.” Lance complained. He knew he shouldn’t, the fact he was even considering meant a lot.

“He’s worried about your health.” Allura reminded. “That will always be his priority. Now, I have to go. I will text you later. Hunk, Pidge, wherever you two are, keep an eye on him ok?”

“They will,” Lance answered for them, though to be honest, he wasn’t sure how much of looking after him they’d do.

After they had told Shiro and Allura about Lance’s secret, Hunk decided he didn’t need to play nice with Pidge and practically ignored her. Pidge, in return, would leave the house, only coming back when she knew Hunk wasn’t in the same room. They weren’t talking and it was making things awkward. Lance knew what Pidge did was pretty horrible, but Lance also knew she thought she was protecting Lance and when she found out what was happening, she tried to track him down, promising she’d do whatever to help him. Honestly, Lance forgave her even if it would take a while for him to trust her again fully but Hunk was not budging.

“Is it ok to call my friends?” he called as Allura was heading to the door.

“Shiro said it was ok. They can’t come over with just you in the house though.” Allura called back as she waved and closed the door.

Lance picked up his cell phone and once again ignored a call from Keith before pulling up Plaxum’s number and called her.

_“Lance!”_ she seemed to scream when she answered, _“I’m so glad you called! Are you ok? Where are you? Why did it take you so long to call?”_

“I was finally told it was ok. You got to remember Plaxum, I used the Shouto Guardianship law against my grandmother. My safety is kinda priority.” Lance reminded.

_“Still doesn’t mean I can’t be worried. Seeing Shiro at the office getting your paperwork to pull out from school and being told you we’re somewhere else basically getting treated for a fever you got from getting locking a shed, how could I not be worrying my head off?”_

“I know. I’m glad I’m finally able to call you now. How is everyone?”

_“Worried and if Shiro told us not to, would have been banging your grandmother’s door down.”_

“Please don’t. I know my grandmother never meant to do what she did with any harm to me. I don’t feel safe near her right now but I do know that I will eventually want to meet with her again. Just you, not now.”

Plaxum huffed over the phone, _“I guess. But where are you? Shiro said he wasn’t with you? When can we come visit you?”_

“I’m with a family friend. As soon as we get the ok from Shiro, you and the others can come over. Since I need to get better before I can go back to my summer job, I’m pretty lonely.”

_“We should try and see if there are any festivals near where you are when you get better. Something tells me you can do with a night out.”_

Remembering the whole issue with Keith, Lance could agree with that. “Sounds like a good idea. Now, enough about my life, what’s going on with you?”

_“Well, I think there’s a ghost in the school.”_ Plaxum whispered.

“Huh? A ghost?”

_“Well, the swim team has access to the pool and we like doing really late practises and we were passing by the gym and the basketballs were all over the court and Florona said she saw a basketball bouncing and then shoot into the basket. It’s like the ghost is lonely.”_

“Lonely?” Lance was getting the idea he knew who this ghost was. Who else did he know couldn’t be seen by people and would mostly not be around at night?

_“Well it’s basketball. Can’t play by yourself.”_ Yeah, it had to be Pidge. He needed to fix things between Hunk and Pidge. He lost Keith already, he didn’t want to lose more friends.

* * *

 

_“Hi this is Lance, I can’t come to the phone right now so leave me a message and I’ll get back to you, bye!”_

Keith groaned as he heard the same message he’d been listening to since he saw Lance disappear behind the suddenly appearing line of trees after the announcement that he was the new Mermaid Tear spokesperson. Seeing the look of betrayal hurt Keith even more than the guilt he felt as he sang the words written by Lance in that sound booth. He wanted to explain and apologize, to beg for forgiveness but neither Lance nor Allura were answering his calls. He tried calling other talents at Altea but it looked like word had gotten around since no one else was taking his calls.

_ Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a second. What was he saying about his lyrics? I thought those lyrics sounded too close to his theme. Did you steal them?” Keith couldn’t get an answer out quickly enough before Allura interrupted him. “Never mind, I don’t need an answer. I thought I could trust you, but apparently you’re just like everyone else at Empire. _

_ But apparently you’re just like everyone else at Empire _

_ Just like everyone else at Empire _

With a frustrated stifled scream, Keith kicked the nearest wall. Normally, walls tended to break with his anger but they were at the base of the Blade of Mamora, Japan sector and the walls used to being beaten on held up. The company decided they wanted the angle of Red, the Blade of Mamora member for the commercial so with permission from the head of the Japan sector, Keith stood in the corner of the room while the film crew set up.

This wasn’t fair. Keith knew he didn’t deserve this and when he tried one last time to fix it, it turned out that he was too late. He was going to approach the person in charge of the commercial, hoping he could appeal to them to get Lance in on the commercial but they said they were given a paid contract by Empire to keep the original idea. Keith had about 2 guesses who suggested the contract, daddy’s boy and his daddy. Now here he was, getting ready to do a commercial he didn’t feel right doing, with music that didn’t belong to him and all while knowing Lance hated him. Keith tried to separate from what people assumed to be the usual Empire talent behaviour, but here he was surrounded by a product of it.

“Keith?”

“What?” he snapped, turning to look at Thace. The minute he got home, he did something he hadn’t done since he was a kid, called Thace and begged him – close to tears mind you – to come back because he needed help. Thace hadn’t been successful either in getting Allura to answer him.

“Watch it mister, in this building, I outrank you.” Thace said, not willing to take Keith’s sass, no matter how much he knew Keith was upset.

“I could truly give less of a fuck. What is it?”

Thace sighed. Keith was mad.

“Being snippy with me isn’t going to help you Keith. I know this isn’t what you wanted and what had happened makes you feel horrible but until Isamu answers you, you can’t do much. Snapping at everyone is just going to make you look bad. You’re in another one of your work places; don’t make the Blades ashamed of you.”

Keith huffed. At Empire, he could care less what they thought of him, but Thace was right. Keith was proud of being a Blade; he didn’t need his anger to make a fool out of himself.

“This isn’t fair. I shouldn’t even be doing this commercial.” Keith complained.

“I know this isn’t what you wanted but we can’t do anything about it. Zarkon had them sign a contract so you would be the only spokesperson for them. It’s not like there’s anything we can do about it, minus you quitting.”

Keith shook his head, “I can’t quit, Zarkon would just order me back here and smooth things over with them. They like me anyway so they might just agree with it.” Keith stilled then. “But…if they didn’t like me then maybe…”

Feeling very worried Thace asked, “What exactly are you planning on doing?”

The smirk that came to Keith face did not make Thace feel any better, “oh nothing. Just thought the crew should get to know the real Red.”

Thace watched as Keith walked over to an assistant and tapped them on the shoulder.

“Yes Red?”

“That’s Mr. Red to you. How much longer is this gonna take? I have better things to do than sit here wasting my time promoting a shampoo that only does damage to my hair.”

Thace covered his face with his hands. Oh, he could see this ending just the way Keith wanted, which would only land him in trouble with Zarkon and Empire Records. He grabbed the shoulder of a passing Blade.

“Is Antok in his office or is he off sight today?” he asked, hoping his good friend and head of the Japan sector would be there to help him with damage control on the Blades side.

“Yes sir.”                                                                                                                  

“Tell him that Senior Blade Thace is begging him to get down here now. His favourite nephew is going to start pissing people off.”

“Funnily enough, Antok mentioned something about that.” The Blade muttered loud enough

“Then he’s smart, go please.” Thace ordered, sending the Blade off before sighing. While Galra couldn’t get grey hairs, Keith was very good at attempting to give him some. “This boy had better be worth what Keith is making me go through.”

* * *

 

Lance was pouting in Allura’s room, glaring out into the hallway where Hunk was hunkered down in the living room. He’d seen Pidge floating around outside, a large green umbrella in her hand blocking out most of the hot sun, but she wouldn’t come inside. Not without Hunk not in the apartment. And Hunk wasn’t planning on going anywhere. Lance huffed, if he was going to be stubborn, than Lance would just make things easier for himself. He quickly changed out of his pyjamas and putting a hat on his head and grabbing his own umbrella, he left the house, knowing he didn’t have a ton of time before Hunk came after him. He walked around the building a bit and then found Pidge sitting on top of a lamp post nearby.

“Pidge! There you are.”

“Wh-Lance? What are you doing out here? You should be back inside resting.” Pidge said, jumping down to reach Lance.

“I know, but I saw you outside and wanted to check on you. I’m fine, just still recovering from my cold.” Lance said, trying to show Pidge he was fine, but it seemed to make her upset.

“Yeah, a cold that was my fault.”

“Pidge…” Lance said, feeling lost at what to do. “I get that you feel guilty and that Hunk is mad at you but, I miss you with us. Without you there, it feels lonely. Please come back, talk to Hunk, try and make things right. I know he seems mad, but I really think he wants you back as well.”

Pidge didn’t look like she believed him. “Hunk hates me. It’s just better if I don’t stick around so I can’t hurt you guys anymore ok? Bye.” With that, Pidge took off into the sky leaving Lance calling after her.

Lance huffed and went back inside, going over to the couch where Hunk was. “I need you to bring Pidge back.”

“She is perfectly capable of coming back herself.” Hunk said.

“You say that, but she still thinks you hate her! Yes, she made a huge mistake when trying to protect me but I know she didn’t mean it. I forgave her for it but your being too stubborn to forgive her. I thought she was your friend Hunk. Right now, all you’re doing is treating her like a criminal and a stranger over something she already feels guilty for.”

Hunk stayed silent. He knew Lance was right. He was still a bit upset over what Pidge had done but he also knew she was still holding on to the guilt. She didn’t have to. Lance was fine and honestly speaking, if Shiro agreed to let Lance continue singing, he was in a much better environment. But he was still holding on to the anger he had when he found out what Pidge had done. It was easier to hold onto the anger than to forgive.

“If she wants to come back, fine. I’m not going to run her out or anything.” Hunk said.

“So if I tell her you said it was ok to come back?” Lance asked, seeming much calmer.

“Tell her what you want. I don’t care.”

“Excellent. I’m going to go look for her!” Lance ran back out of the apartment and took off in the direction of his school. He had to take the bus to get there and with a wave to the security officer, who thankfully didn’t seem to recognise that technically Lance wasn’t a student anymore, Lance ran to the gym. Like Plaxum said, the gym was covered with basketballs and sitting in the tied up net, was a familiar green lion. “Pidge?”

“Ah! What the hell? Lance?” Pidge climbed out of the net and floated down to Lance, changing back into her original form. “Lance, what are you doing here?”

“Looking for you. Look I know you don’t want to come back home, but I just talked to Hunk and he said he wants you back.”

Pidge looked stunned. “What? No he didn’t.”

“Yes he did.”

“Why would he, after what I did?” Pidge said, walking around Lance, trying to get away but Lance followed her.

“I know what happened seems like it was really bad, but Pidge?” Lance stopped Pidge by standing in front of her, putting his hands on her shoulders, “I am fine. I’m feeling better; I’m in a better place. You were just trying to protect me and even if it didn’t go well, I know you’d do anything to protect me. I want you back. Please?”

Pidge looked away from Lance’s pleading eyes. “What am I supposed to say to Hunk?”

Lance shrugged, “I’m home?”

Pidge rolled her eyes, “I doubt he’d tell me ‘Welcome back’.”

“Pidge, come on. If you keep acting down and upset about this, you’ll never be able to move past it. Do you really want things to stay like this?”

Pidge shook her head. “I don’t. It’s just…I don’t know if he’ll ever forgive me.”

“He will. Just…come back home, please?” Lance begged

Pidge looked up to those pleading blue eyes and sighed. “You make it hard to say no to you. Ok but, I don’t know if I’ll be able to come into the house.”

“Ok, I won’t force you. Just stay nearby?”

He might have gotten Pidge to come back but getting Hunk to at least come out to see Pidge was hard and it seeming like Pidge and Hunk, while nearby each other, kept drifting apart.

“This fucking sucks.” He complained as he and Allura had dinner in her bed while they watched TV.

“Language.”

“You didn’t care when I was 19.” Lance complained.

“Because you’re not 19. You’ll be 17 soon but that’s still not old enough.” Allura said. “But what’s wrong? Is it Pidge and Hunk? Are they still not talking?”

Lance shook his head. “I don’t know what to do. I just need to get them together so they can talk but they’re both being so stubborn about it. What am I supposed to do? I want them to make up but…”

“Well, maybe you can come up with a way to get them together. Once they see each other or are forced together, they’re going to have to talk and if Shiro agrees to let you continue being an idol, they’re going to have to be in the same room at some point.” Allura said.

“Wait a second. Allura, you’re a genius! Has Shiro said if I’m allows to go out with friends yet?”

“Oh, um, I texted him, but he didn’t answer.” Allura answered.

Just then Lance’s phone rang and Lance quickly answered to silence Keith’s singing. “Hello?”

_“Lance, it’s me.”_

“Shiro! Hi, we were just talking about you.”

_“I’m sure. Look, I saw your manager’s text and wanted to answer. If you want to meet up with your friends you can. Nothing too far from the apartment though. I also wanted to ask when’s the closest time you can get to the hospital. I want to do what Hunk suggested and test you with as Isamu.”_

“So, does that mean I can continue singing?” Lance asked excitedly.

_“Let’s see what the tests say first.”_ Shiro said, making Lance droop a little.

“Fine. You could of just texted Allura back though.”

_“I know, I just, uh, wanted to let you know about the test. So when can you get down here?”_

“One sec,” pulling the phone away, Lance turned to Allura, “is there a festival happening anytime soon? Like at the local temple or anything?”

Allura let out a hum as she thought. “The nearest shrine isn’t that far from here. And actually, there is. But it’s ending soon I think, the last day might be tomorrow.”

While Allura checked on her phone, Lance went back to Shiro, “can it be the day after tomorrow? I want to see if I can go to a festival with my friends. Since you know, I’ve never gone to one with friends.”

_“Of course. I actually did pack your yukata in one of the bags. You should hang it up tonight. Text me tomorrow so we can figure out when Allura can bring you to the hospital.”_ Shiro said, sounding happy as Lance felt that he was going out with friends.

“I will. I’ll go look for it now. Bye.”

_“Bye Lance. Have fun.”_

Lance hung up as Allura found her answer.

“Ah ha! I was right, it ends tomorrow. You had better go ask your friends if they can come with you.” Allura said .

“I will. But first things first. Hang on.” Climbing over Allura, Lance went to the bedroom balcony and slid the door open, finding Pidge chilling out on the ledge. “Pidge, I need your help.”

“Hmm? What is it?” She asked, turning to face Lance.

“So there’s a festival at the nearby temple tomorrow and since it’s the last day, they usually do a firework display. Since it’s my first festival with friends, I was wondering if you could help it be amazing?”

“How?” Pidge asked, interested.

“Maybe at the end of the display, maybe you can make a huge firework happen at the end. You can personalize it. It would be so cool.”

“Well, I guess.” Pidge shrugged. “If that’s what you want.”

“Absolutely. So you have to be close by ok, no matter what.” Lance said.

“I will be, don’t worry.” Pidge promised.

“Perfect. I have to call Plaxum and the others. Thanks Pidge!”

Of course before he could call Plaxum, he had to appeal to Hunk first.

“I don’t get it, if there’s already a firework display then what do you need me for?” Hunk asked.

“It’s my first festival with friends. I want it to be something I’ll never forget, so you can help make it special.”

“Well, ok. Sure. At the end of the firework display right?” Hunk clarified.

“Yep. Oh thanks a bunch Hunk. I better go call Plaxum.” As he walked away, Lance pulled up the Nalquod girl’s number. “Hey Plaxum, remember when you were talking about going to a festival together with the others? Any chance your free tomorrow? I happened to find one nearby…you can? Excellent! I’ll text you the name and you guys can meet me there. We’re going to have so much fun.”

* * *

 

“Why am I going?” Allura asked as she and Lance took the elevator to the parking garage. While she waited for them to reach their destination, she fixed her white obi that stood out against the pink and blue of her yukata.

“Because as the paperwork isn’t fully through, I have to be accompanied by a trusted person of my choosing and as much as Shiro wanted to come with me, he has to help in an operation. Hence why you’re in your yukata.” Lance explained, putting his phone in the small bag he had. Since he couldn’t carry Hunk like normal, Hunk floated in the elevator with him and Lance knew Pidge would be on her way to the festival. He hoped his plan would work.

Complaining that her feet would be killing her by the time they reached the shrine, Allura drove them over and waiting near the gate was Plaxum, Swrin, Blumfump and Florona.

“Guys, this is Allura. Allura, these are my friends from school, Swirn, Blumfump – just call him Blum – Florona and Plaxum. Plax, this is the Allura I was telling you about.”

“Oh! It’s nice to meet you. You know, it’s because of me wanting to know who you are, I became friends with this guy.” Plaxum explained as she shook Allura’s hand.

“Really? Well I’m glad to help.”

“Alright, where too first?” Lance asked.

“To the water yoyo stand! Time to teach you ink squirters how easy it is to get a yoyo without breaking the string.” Swirn demanded, already moving.

“Who are you calling an ink squirtter? I beat you in laps yesterday!” Florona yelled back at her friend as the group followed.

“I kicked both your tails fins.” Plaxum threw in.

“Are they always like this?” Allura asked.

“Are they always this loud? Yes. Can they be louder? Oh defiantly.” Lance answered.

Like Swirn promised, she had been the only one successful in getting a water yoyo, meaning that she had to get everyone one. Lance had shown off his skills that had landed him with meeting Plaxum all that time ago with the baseball throw, making Swirn very happy with her new jellyfish plush. Allura surprised them all with the amount of goldfish she caught before her net dissolved.

“They’re Mers and you did better than them.” Lance said as Allura passed the fish out to his friends, who he knew would put them in the biggest tanks possible.

“It’s all about timing and still being able to move quickly. I get more than enough practise working your schedule.” Allura said.

“I’ll pretend not to feel insulted.” Lance sassed.

While they continued walking around, Lance kept an eye out for where Pidge could be. If things were normal, he was sure Hunk would be chasing after her, stopping her from trying to try all the games herself. He wanted that normal again. He looked up when he felt a drop of water fall on his cheek.

“It’s starting to rain guys!” Lance called, knowing the water would give the Nalquods back their fins. He wasn’t sure how much of their water block spray they actually had on them to keep water off, but judging from how quickly they ran over to where the fortunes where, staying under the awning.

While Allura checked on his friends, Lance was left pouting. “Why did it have to start raining now?” he could only imagine Pidge hiding under her umbrella by herself. He hated this and now the rain, something he’d enjoy mostly, was ruining things.

“What are you so worried about?” Hunk was floating near Lance. “It’s an evening shower. It’ll stop soon.”

“I hope.”

“And I know it’s not how you expected things to go in terms of where you are right now, but look at all these people your friends with now, who were all worried about you and begged to know when they could see you again.” Hunk reminded, nodding to the group of Mers Lance had become friends with.

“Yeah. Ever since you and Pidge came into my life, everything’s changed. If Plaxum didn’t hear me humming my song, she would have never talked to me and I never would have been able to become friends with her. They wouldn’t have invited me to lunch and I would have never gained friends like them. You two, especially Pidge, might have teased me, but it felt so good to have people come talk to me out of their own accord.”

“Yeah and we were really proud of you. Aren’t you gonna go gush to Pidge that I mentioned us both in the same sentence?” Hunk said.

“So you know? Look, I know you’re mad at her and you have every right to be, but…the two of you were the first set of friends I ever made since moving here to Japan. You guys are special to me and I know you guys are special to each other. I just want to two of you to make up.” Lance said.

It was silent between the two of them as the rain started to putter off and slowly stop. They didn’t leave the dryness of the awning until many of the stalls turned on heaters that started to evaporate the water and by that time, their attention was dragged to the same fortune stand they were standing under.

Lance shook the container, the stick almost falling to the floor if Lance didn’t grab it at the last second. “Number 28?”

“Ohh! Right here!” Blum pointed out.

Lance opened the drawer and pulled out the top sheet. “Pretty good. ‘You have good friends and a good heart that leads you in the right direction. To turn those away without reason will hurt you, so keep you heart open.’” For some reason, Lance thought of Keith when he read the fortune, but he banished that thought. He wasn’t going there.

“Oh my Baku, it’s almost time for the fireworks. We should head down to the field so we can get a good spot.” Swirn said.

Lance gave Hunk a pointed look as he followed the others down with most of the crowd. They were able to find a clear spot and after a while, it started. First it was sky rockets and then small fireworks and then the big one. When two shapes appeared in the sky, a pyramid shaped robot with cat ears and a lion’s face, Lance knew his plan had to of worked.

“Wow! Look at those. I’ve never seen those before.” Plaxum said.

“I hear they’re one of a kind fireworks.” Lance said, looking over his shoulder to see Hunk giving him a look.

“Alright, alright. I get it.”

Lance was right. His and Pidge’s relationship was one of a kind. Yes Pidge messed up but she cared about Lance a lot and he knew she felt guilty about what she did. Hunk still holding on to the anger was making Pidge feel like she couldn’t even come close to him. He had been ready to apologize to Pidge; he had just been too stubborn to admit it. He took off and was quickly able to find Pidge, whose attention was up at the sky.

“Pidge?”

The girl spun around and Hunk broke a little seeing Pidge back away slightly, like she was expecting rejection.

“I know what you’re going to say. You’ll never forgive me and I understand that, so I’ll just go.”

Hunk grabbed Pidge’s arm before she could try and fly off. “I shouldn’t be forgiving you. I need to ask you to forgive me. Pidge, yes, I was upset with what you did, but you were right. I would have tried to save Lance and it could have ended badly but I was being so stubborn and not realising that you were doing what you thought was right. I forgave you a long time ago but I wouldn’t believe that I did. I’m so sorry I made you feel like this. Pidge, when you were hurting and I was lost because I didn’t know where I was, you pushed through and helped me and I didn’t do the same for you, which wasn’t right.”

“But I…”

“No buts. Pidge, I forgive you and I’m so sorry I hurt you.”

Pidge then did something Hunk had never seen her do. She started crying.

“Ah! No, wait, don’t cry! Pidge I’m sorry!” Hunk panicked as Pidge wiped at her eyes.

“I’m not crying because I’m sad stupid. I’m crying because I’m happy. I thought you’d never forgive me.”

“I know. I really am sorry and I know that we won’t keep anything from each other anymore ok?” Pidge nodded. “Well, Lance did ask for some big fireworks. We should deliver huh?”

Pidge let out a watery laugh. “Maybe something that shows him we’re ok?”

“I’ve got just the idea, ready?”

With a snap of their fingers, they set of a firework that spelt ‘Rover Rock’.

“Rover rock? What’s that, a band?” Florena asked, seeming confused as everyone else, but not Lance.

“I hear they’re a great duo.”

Allura nudged Lance, “I take it that means it worked?”

“I have a very good feeling you’ll have a new guest inside your house when we get back home.” Lance said, glad that his friends finally made up. It did make him think of Keith though. Would he get the chance to make things up with him?

* * *

 

Lance stood under an awning from  waiting for the rain to stop. This seemed to be the summer of rain, but also, when it rained this summer, big things happened. First was Lance being locked in the shed, then Pidge and Hunk finally making up, so naturally something had to happen now?

It was only hours ago he stood in Shiro’s office as his doctor stared down at his x-rays. One as his 16 year old self and the other as his 19 year old self. Shiro made him and Allura stand there in silence before he had to agree. Lance was healthy as a 19 year old, so with a ton of warning about not pushing himself, Shiro agreed that he could continue singing. Allura then took him to meet Hira, the head of Altea Records.

“So this is the prince that’s been causing trouble,” Hira said, her teal yes taking in Lance’s stiff figure.

“Yes and I’m very sorry for causing so much trouble.” Lance apologized, bowing low.

“Allura tells me you had been feeling sick and it turned out to be much worse. But you’re better now?”

“Yes, I got the go ahead from my doctor. I can start back at work right away if you want me to.”

Hira held up a hand to stop Lance. “No need. I’ve got you scheduled for a TV performance soon. You need to apologize to your public, so I’d get on that on social media. Just try not o disappear like that again without explanation.”

“I won’t, I swear.” Lance promised.

“Very good. Now, I need to talk with your manager if that’s ok. I had been hoping to do so yesterday, but she was busy.” Hira said, looking over at Allura.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, we went to a festival at the nearby shrine.” Lance explained, hoping he didn’t get Allura in trouble.

“Not a problem. Why don’t you go wait in the lobby? I’m sure my secretary could get you something to drink while you wait.”

Seeing that he was being dismissed, Lance nodded. “Right. I’ll wait for you outside Allura.”

While he waited and kindly asked Hira’s secretary if he could have a lemonade – he’d been expecting a sour look, but then again, they were Balmeran, he had yet to meet a mean one – The Rebels had found him, Nyma screaming his stage name across the room before throwing herself on him, demanding to know where the hell he’d been and why he hadn’t been answering her calls.

“Sorry, I’ve been avoiding Keith so I haven’t been answering anyone’s calls.” Lance said as Hira’s secretary brought over his lemonade.

“OMG, I just remembered. Guess what we heard since you’ve been gone?”

Before Lance could answer, Kolivan appeared with a bouquet of flowers.

“Long live our prince. You scared us disappearing like that. I take it your back for real?”

“Yes sir. Sorry I worried you.” Lance said.

“Don’t do it again please. I’ve never lost a singer so quickly and I’d rather not start.” Kolivan said, handing Lance the flowers.

“I’ll try my very best. Trust me, I don’t plan on getting sick any time soon.”

“Good. Oh and if you hear anything about any rumours, send them to me. I’ve got the urge to release some anger.” Kolivan said before he left, leaving Lance feeling confused.

“Rumours?” he asked to which Nyma pulled him back onto the couch and launched into the story.

“So Ezor was actually dating Acxa but she dumped her to date Zethrid, the other member of their group. I don’t think there was really any bad feelings between them, but everyone said that’s why she went around spreading rumours that you weren’t actually sick but with your boyfriend, blowing off work and causing a panic. Everyone believed her and trust me that I was about to go punch her in retaliation but then Ryner came up to her and told her to stop spreading false words and if she had time to spread rumours, she had time to better her singing. She looked so embarrassed and then tried to play it off like she was jealous and that she didn’t mean to cause trouble but Ryner didn’t believe her. Her exact words were ‘if you were half the singer that you are as an actor, maybe you and your group would actually be better’.”

“Oh that look on her face was amazing, but no one is at all brave enough to have a diva fit in front of Ryner, not if they don’t want to be made a fool of.” Matt added on.

“Not like Empire needs anymore bad press. Though, Keith didn’t help.” Rolo said.

“Wait, what do you mean?” Lance asked confused.

“Oh, just what we wanted to tell you. Keith lost the commercial.” Nyma said, a smile on her lips.

“Huh? Keith? Like, Red-Keith?” Lance asked.

“Yep. While Acxa didn’t throw a diva fit, Keith did.” Matt said.

“No he didn’t. It’s Keith. He’d never do that.” Lance defended.

“Then why did both the Blade of Mamora and Empire Studios have to send out contracts for none of the events that happened the day of filming to be released to the public? Though, granted, the Blade was sure of what they saw wasn’t the real Keith and after hearing everything he did, we had to agree.” Rolo said.

“Insulted staff, acted like a complete asshole, acted like he had the power to fire people. It annoyed the staff so much, the director fired him. Keith just thanked him, seeming really happy and left.” Matt said. “I know he had your lyrics, but I really think there’s more to the story with him and this whole issue. Have you talked to him?”

Lance shook his head. Keith had stopped calling the day of the festival. After Lance got home and looked over his fortune again, Lance was tempted to call back but, it didn’t seem right. He explained it to the others, who all told him to call him.

“You and Keith have been really good friends since you met each other. I really think you should talk to him.” Matt said.

It’s not like Lance didn’t remember that. He had his strip of the purikura pictures tucked away safely in his bag. He hadn’t deleted the thread of messages they had sent back and forth. He hadn’t gotten rid of the pictures they sent each other and of the ones they were able to take together. The songs of Red, the Galran Assassin of Music still sat in its place of the music folder of his phone. So while he stood under the awning, waiting for the rain to stop so he could go back to Allura’s place after looking at apartments he could live at - now that paperwork had gone through and he was considered a emancipated adult – he tried to convince himself that maybe Keith wouldn’t turn him away.

He looked up when he noticed someone ducking under the awning, the red hoodie they were wearing. He noticed a bludge by their chest, but they could be an alien under the hood so he didn’t judge. Then he noticed the bludge moving until a furry head popped out from the hoodie. The red furred cat sniffed around the wet world as their owner tried to keep them from tumbling out of the jacket. She looked familiar, almost like Snap, Keith’s cat.

God, he had so many pictures of the majestic red floof. He’d beg for many pictures and Keith was happy to provide. They’d talked about finding a free day for Lance to finally come over to Keith’s place to hang out and meet Snap. Now if felt like he’d never get that. Maybe if he didn’t ignore Keith for so long, maybe if he tried to get answers, maybe there’d be a chance that he’d be hanging out with Keith right now.

When he heard a rip, Lance looked up to see the area of awning above him rip and drop water on him.

“AHH!” Lance yelled as he was doused with cold water. He could hear Pidge and Hunk complaining from his bag and he felt something pull him away from the rip, where he had a chance to shake the water from his face and hair. “What the hell?”

“Are you ok?”

Wait, he knew that voice. He looked over and he finally got a good look at the face under the hood. It was Keith. It took everything in him not to burst out. Lance was Lance, not Isamu, so he shouldn’t know who Keith was, not with his clear skin and black hair.

“Um, uh, yes. I’m fine, just really, really wet.”

“I can’t believe that happened.” Keith said looking up at the rip. “Do you live near here?”

“Um, not really. I was gonna catch the bus but the bus stop is kinda far from here.”

“If it’s ok with you, my place isn’t far from here. We can go there where you can get dry.”

Should he? He had a chance to talk to Keith and while it was as Lance, maybe he could get a chance to get past the walls Keith would have.

He timidly agreed and they sprinted to Keith’s apartment, where Keith quickly scanned his fob to let them into the lobby. Lance could tell compared to Allura’s apartment, this place was way more high scale. There was a place to sit in the lobby, with a room sectioned off for a pool table. Their feet squeaked as they walked across the tiled floor and their wet footprints were cleaned up by automatic cleaners. Keith didn’t seem the slightest bit bothered by it as he was more concerned with getting his hoodie off where he let Snap jump to the floor. Lance noticed how smart she was as she sat to wait for the elevator.

“You can take a shower to warm up when we get in. My godfather is in my apartment so I’ll have to introduce you really quick. What’s your name?”

“Lance.” Shit, he hadn’t thought that through. Keith seemed surprised but nodded anyway. “Um, I’m really sorry, but…are you the singer Red?” Lance distracted, though he obviously knew the answer.

Keith let out an embarrassed laugh, “you’re not going to go bragging to you friends are you?” Lance shook his head. Like he would ever dare too. “You’re getting insider information here, but yes. But call me Keith.”

“Keith. It’s nice to meet you officially.” Lance went to go shake his hand but instead used his hand to cover his mouth as he sneezed.

“Let’s get you upstairs and into warm clothes.” The doors opened just then, and they followed Snap in the elevator. “Do you have a preference on hot drinks?”

Lance looked up at Keith and….wait, looked up? Lance looked Keith over, who was still waiting for an answer. Did Keith shoot up in the past couple days?

“How tall are you?” Lance asked.

“Huh?”

“Height, how tall are you?” Lance asked, begging for an answer.

“Um, 6 feet?”

Lance was 5’8. As Isamu he was about 6’1 maybe 6’2. Keith was technically taller than him.

“This is so fucking unfair.” Lance muttered.

“Huh?”

“I said hot chocolate, if that’s ok.” Lance said.

Keith opened the door to his apartment and lead Lance to the bathroom, Lance only catching Thace sitting by the table in the living room before the wall cut him out of sight.

“Ok, you can go ahead and take a shower; I’ll leave clothes for you and just use any towel on the second shelf. Just leave your stuff on the counter so I can throw it in the drier, ok?” Keith said

“Ok, thanks.” Lance said before Keith left him alone in the western style bathroom. “I can’t believe he’s taller than me.”

“By 2 inches.” Pidge said as she and Hunk went back to their original forms, sick of feeling all the water on them in the plush form. “Think of it this way, you’ll grow taller anyway.”

“Pidge, reminder that according to you, I die in a year.” Lance pointed out putting the things from his bag on the counter while hanging his bag on the door handle.

“While also reminding you what Shiro promised? He won’t do the surgery that you don’t want and he’ll find another way to get rid of your cancer, while also keeping you alive.” Hunk reminded.

“But, we’re getting off topic. We’re in Keith’s house. We can talk to him and you can finally get the whole story.” Pidge said.

Pidge was right. He had a chance to do something he thought he wouldn’t get the chance to do because he’d been too hurt to at least listen when he had a chance.

Lance let out another sneeze. “Let me get warm first. Last thing I need is to get sick again after I just recovered.”

“Oh right, you go in the shower and I’ll get you a towel.” Pidge said.

Lance was quick to pull his shirt off and drop it onto the counter and climbed into the shower so he could take his pants off in privacy. He threw them over the door for Hunk to catch so he could put them on the counter. As he turned the water on, he checked to see where the soap and such was when he noticed that there was no shampoo.

“Pidge, can you find shampoo?” Lance asked.

The green eared Shinigami floated around poking through the areas she would think the shampoo would be but she couldn’t find anything. Then she noticed something in the trash. It was the bottles of Mermaid Tear Shampoo and Conditioner.

“Lance, he uses Mermaid Tear and he threw them out.” Pidge picked the bottle out from under a few makeup wipes and bloody bandages. “They’re still full.”

“Why throw away full bottles of shampoo and conditioner?” Hunk asked.

Lance had a guess and he could only hope he was right. He could only beg he was right.

Keith took Lance’s wet clothes and left a shirt and sweatpants for Lance, which was of course big on him. Lance still refused to believe this was real. How was this possible that Keith was actually taller than him?

“Oh, give it a rest Lance. He’s older than you, obviously he’d be taller.” Pidge said.

“It’s still not fair.” Lance whined as he hung the wet towel up and left the bathroom after he put his stuff back in his bag.

Keith was in the kitchen so Lance decided to go to the living room where Thace was sitting at the low table, which Lance realised was a kotatsu.

“Lance correct? I’m Thace.”

Lance shook his hand, “nice to meet you. Sorry to suddenly crash.”

“It’s no problem. Sit, we have enough room. Just watch where you have your legs, Snap is under here.”

“Thanks. Why is this out though? It’s summer?”

“With all the rain, Keith pulled it out so he could at least get warm when he gets back. The minute the sun decides to stick around longer than 30 minutes, I’m making him put it back.” Thace said.

“Here you go.” Keith came over and put a mug of hot chocolate in front of Lance.

“Thank you. Thanks again for letting me come over.”

“No problem. I got to admit, that sudden waterfall was surprising.” Keith said, lifting the blanket and peeking under to find Snap. She crawled out and gave Keith a nose kiss before she climbed onto the table.

“Certainly no fun when trying to look for an apartment and failing and then that happen.” Lance said, holding the mug to keep his hands warm.

“You look rather young to be looking for an apartment.” Thace pointed out.

“I’m under the Shouto Guardianship Law right now.” Lance admitted, getting himself ready for the questions he knew he’d be getting.

“Do you have cancer?” Thace asked. Lance was surprised he actually got that right. “My husband is a doctor. Most of his patients that use the Guardianship Law are cancer patients.”

“Oh, well yeah, I have sarcoma.”

Keith looked confused. “What’s that?”

“Your other godfather is a doctor.” Thace reminded.

“Like I actually pay attention to every medical term he uses.” Keith sassed right back.

“It’s throat cancer basically.” Lance explained.

“Are you going to get quintessence treatment?” Keith asked.

Lance shook his head. “I’m quintessence sensitive. The location of my tumour is right on my vocal cords so I don’t want to do surgery.”

“I can’t imagine not being able to sing because of cancer.” Keith said.

“It’s basically my life. I love singing but because of the cancer, I can’t. But that’s why I love listening to you sing.” Lance said, getting Keith to look right at him. “Your music has helped me feel better and it’s always helped. It’s given me the courage to believe that my doctor _will_ be able to find another way to help me. So thank you.”

Keith’s smile looked strained. “I’m glad my singing helps, seeing how I can’t even make the people I care about happy.”

Was Keith talking about him? Did Keith hurt from what he had done? What had Keith done? Why had Lance waited so long to talk to Keith?

“Ignore me. I’m going to get a cup of tea. Excuse me.” Keith was quick to disappear into the kitchen, leaving Lance to look over to Thace, who shook his head.

“He’s not usually like this, but after what happed with the Mermaid Tear commercial and Isamu, I think he’s allowed.”

“Isamu? Like Isamu, Prince of Altea?”

“Pretty good friends, those two, but something happened that messed that up. It’s not my story to tell though.”

Lance would have gotten the story if he hadn’t ignored Keith for so long. After what he heard from The Rebels about what Keith did at the filming of the commercial, Lance regretted staying angry for so long. Thace was right; he needed to get the story from Keith himself. It was the only way they could try and fix things. He let Snap sniff his hand before she rubbed her head for scratches, which she was given before something else grabbed her attention and she went jumping off the table. Lance guessed she jumped on the remote for the TV, because it turned on and a paused picture of a younger Keith – in full Red form – came onto.

“I can’t believe he was actually watching this. Pay attention Kid, you’re getting a backstage look at a side of Red no one has seen.” Thace said picking up the remote and pressing play.

**_As soon as you fly high_ **   
**_you can’t deny the starlight_ **   
**_you love the contradiction shaking you_ **

**_Even when ya fall take one step_ **   
**_you can breathe again in one step_ **   
**_It can be that easy in one step_ **

**_And that’s it!_ **

**_Another endless day fading into the night_ **   
**_Ohh, it goes on_ **   
**_every day all the same like a game_ **

“Thace!” Keith yelled from the kitchen as he ran out, his face red in what Lance could assume was embarrassment. “Turn that off!”

“Don’t look at me, Snap turn it on.” Thace accused the cat, who Lance still couldn’t see, even though the remote was clearly in his hand.

“And she pressed play to, I’m sure. Turn it off.”

“Shhh! Wait, I know this song.” Lance interrupted. He did know this song. This video looked like a legit video, with the shots of Keith doing what looked like a Blade mission with other Blades also cutting into shots of Keith singing and doing the dance moves with the backup dancers, who were dressed with the hooded sleeveless shirts Keith’s backup dancers were known for. Lance fully admitted to being a super fan of Red, so why could he not place this song immediately? “Is this the opening for that hero anime? Hero something or other? I didn’t know you sang the opening for this.”

“That’s because he technically didn’t, so to speak. I mean, he wrote the song and the video was shot for it but at the last minute, Empire decided they didn’t want one of their singers being involved in something so immature so the video got cancelled and Keith had to sell the song to someone else. He still gets royalties for it though.” Thace explained, pulling the remote away from Keith for a bit to annoy him before Keith snatched it out of his hand and turned the TV off.

“I love that song. I think your voice suits it better, no offense to the other singer, but you looked like you were having fun in that video.” Lance complimented.

Keith, his face still red, ruffled his hair in embarrassment and not looking at Lance said, “I have a copy of it on CD if you want it.”

“Yes please!”

Keith disappeared into his room and came out to hand Lance the CD, still looking embarrassed. “This is so embarrassing.”

Thace pulled out his ringing cell phone and got up to move to Keith’s room, leaving Lance and Keith alone. Lance remembered what Thace said, if he wanted the full story, he needed to talk to Keith, but would Keith even talk to a stranger? Only one way to find out.

“Hey, can I ask if you’ve filmed your commercial yet? I heard you were going to be the new face of Mermaid Tear shampoo.”

“Yeah,” Keith said awkwardly and uncomfortably, “that’s not happening anymore.”

“Can I ask why?”

Keith looked uncomfortable and guilty. “Because this whole commercial messed up everything. I wasn’t even supposed to get it but because I wanted to protect someone, I ended up losing a very close friend.”

Protecting who? “What happened?”

Keith looked over at him and asked, “Can you keep a secret?” Lance nodded. “Ok. You know Isamu, Prince of Altea right, the singer? Well we’ve become pretty good friends and we’re close. We both auditioned to get the Mermaid Tear commercial and we had gotten call-backs. Because we were singers, the company wanted us to write a song to go with the theme for the shampoos they had. I had Rose, Isamu had Ocean and we both wrote our own lyrics. When I got to the call-back, waiting in my green room was his lyrics. I have no clue how it even got there, since he wasn’t even there yet. Thace wasn’t in town so Empire Records sent me with their producer to stand in as my manager and…he basically blackmailed me with Thace’s job at Empire to sing Isamu’s lyrics. I know I should of refused and backed out of it, but Thace’s husband worked for Empire and was fired and the ruined his reputation so much, no other record company would touch him. I couldn’t let Thace go through the same thing so I had to make the hardest decision ever.”

“So to save your godfather, you had to betray your best friend?” Now Lance got it. He knew how much Thace meant to him. If Thace left and he was put with another manager, Keith would go insane and do something. It didn’t mean he wasn’t upset, he still was, but Lance understood why Keith had done it.

“Trust me, I regret it completely. It’s even worse that when they were announcing to the press who their new spokesmodel was, they played his song. I stood there on stage when he finally came and saw him hearing his lyrics being sung by me. I tried following him but his manager made it very clear I wasn’t allowed near him anymore.”

“Have you called him, tried to explain?”

“What’s the point? He refuses to answer my calls and no one will talk to me because they think I’m like every other signed talent at Empire.” Keith said, sounding defeated.

Lance felt a bit guilty that Keith was feeling this way. It’s not like Keith had wanted to do what he did, he was just forced into a situation he had no choice but to do what he did. But he was surprised Keith was giving up so easy. He had been expecting more calls, even after what he found out.

“So you’ve stopped trying?”

Keith shrugged, “what’s the point, he hates me with every good reason. He’d never forgive me, let alone talk to me again.”

“How well does Isamu know you?” Lance asked, a bit insulted that Keith would think this way. He understood why Keith did what he did.

“Pretty well I guess.”

“No offence, but it seems kinda cowardly for you to just give up. Ok yes, you sang his song but it’s not like you wanted to. You were basically forced to. Don’t you think you should at least explain that to Isamu? If he knows you as well as you say, he should understand.”

“You seem rather knowledgeable for someone one who only just listens to his songs.” Keith said.

“So? You know I’m right. You’re a member of the Blade of Mamora right? Don’t they have some test or something you have to go through to enter? How old were you when you entered anyway?”

“15 and yes, the Trails, though they don't really do that anymore.”

“15 and you passed the test Blades of Old had to do and you’re scared to talk to what sounds like your best friend?” Lance accused.

“Why do you care?” Keith snapped back.

“I wasn’t lying when I said your music has helped me a lot and so has Isamu’s. It’s because of his music, I’ve been able to actually find friends. It doesn’t seem right for you guys to get ripped apart because of something like this.”

Keith looked away, focusing on his hands, fidgeting like Lance had never seen before.

“Do you think there’s even a chance he’d forgive me?” Keith asked quietly, but Lance heard him. He never heard the insecurity Keith had in his voice.

“I think you won’t know if you don’t try. You should try calling him again, not now though. Um, you need to at least think of what to say.” And so Lance wouldn’t have to explain why his phone was ringing while Keith was calling Isamu.

“I guess. Thank you by the way. Guess I needed someone other than my parents to tell me actually push forward and talk to him.”

“It’s ok. But actually thank me by calling him. I think it’ll do you some good.” It would. Now that he knew what happened, he knew he could forgive Keith. Keith just needed to know that from Isamu now.

* * *

 

When Lance was finally able to get back to Allura’s apartment, he waited on pins and needles for Keith to call. It seemed strange how he wanted nothing more than to avoid Keith before and now he was begging for him to call. Even though he promised Lance he’d call, he was worried the thought of what he did to Isamu would make Keith scared.

“What’s taking him so long?” Lance complained.

“Lance, give him a chance. He was so sure he wouldn’t even think of calling you anymore and then suddenly, he’s pushed into it again.” Allura said from where she sat on the couch, “Give him a chance to breath. He’ll call. You know he will.”

“But what if even what I said today wasn’t enough? Maybe I should call him?”

“And tell him what when he asked what made you call?” Pidge said in her plush form, “Just wait for him to call you ok?”

Hunk could understand why Lance was like this. He had been like that with Pidge not that long ago, wanting to talk to her but still holding onto the anger he felt. Lance was the same, though the anger wasn’t nearly as bad. Lance wanted to talk to Keith and straighten things out.

“Come on Pidge, be a bit more considerate. Lance has every right to-” Hunk was interrupted by Lance’s phone ringing. They all stared at before Hunk yelled, “Don’t stand there. Answer it!”

Lance knew it was Keith. Shiro, Allura and Keith all had different Red songs as their ringtone. Keith’s was the same one he had sung when Lance finally got to see him perform live. He took a deep breath and picked up his phone and answered.

“Hello?”

_“Lance? Is that you?”_ Keith asked, sounding hesitant.

“Yeah, it’s me. Um, one second.” Lance disappeared into Allura’s room and went onto the balcony. “Sorry, I just had to go into a different room. So um, hey?”

_“Hi.”_ The line stayed silent for a while, neither of them speaking until Lance heard him say, _“What am I doing?”_

Scared Keith would hang up, Lance said, “Keith, I missed you.” Ok, not what he thought he’d say, but it was true.

_“You missed me? Lance, I betrayed you, why would you miss me?”_ Keith asked confused.

“Because I do. Nyma told me that you were acting like a diva during the filming for the commercial and you ended up getting fired because of that. I know you, you don’t act like this. I know I ignored your calls but, I want an answer now. What happened? Why did you do it?” Lanced asked.

_“Lance I didn’t want to do it, you have to know that. It’s not that I don’t care about you, it’s just that…I care about Thace more.”_

“Keith…what happened?”

He heard the half Galran singer let out a sigh. _“I had a song for the call-back. I spent the time since you had given me the suggestion on how to do the song writing and I was happy with what I wrote. Thace had been activated on duty again because the person who needed security only trusted Thace to do the job, so Empire sent their producer to be my stand in manager. Course, the producer is a fucking asshole and a daddy’s boy and a goddamn annoyance.”_ Keith complained, _“He said my song wasn’t good enough but I wasn’t going to listen to him. When we were lead into my greenroom, I don’t know how because the room had been locked before I went in, your lyrics were sitting on the table. I recognised your hand writing.”_

“How?” Lance asked curiously.

_“You wrote down everyone orders at the summer party when we went yachting. Look point is, I knew it was your song and when Lotor – that’s daddy’s boy – saw your lyrics, he basically threatened to have Thace fired and his reputation ruined if I didn’t and he’s done it before. He did it to Thace’s husband and no record company will take him anymore. He likes working at his new job but I know he’d want to work with Thace again and, I couldn’t have both the most important people in my life have their lives ruined but in doing so, I ended up betraying you.”_ Keith explained, sounding heartbroken.

“Keith…I’ll admit, I was furious when I heard that you sung my song but I also know how much Thace means to you. He was there after your dad died and helped you try and get to your mom. I mean, I’m the same way with my godfather.”

_“I still shouldn’t have done it. You went missing for 2 days before anyone had some sort of info on you. I should have told the judge what had happened but I wanted to have you there so he could see that it really was yours but I couldn’t get him to wait long enough. God, Lotor was so happy, it made me so sick.”_

Lance thought back to when he had finally gotten to the conference room and saw Keith standing on stage in front of the flashing cameras. His smile had been strained and he looked uncomfortable. The minute he’d seen Lance, he jumped off the stage but Lance had run off. “How did you feel in front of the cameras?”

_“At the press release? I wasn’t supposed to be standing up there Lance, you were. It was your song. I felt, so guilty and sick to my stomach. And when Allura said I was no better than most people at Empire, I realised she was right.”_

“No she wasn’t. Keith, I was mad then, but I’m not anymore. You can’t expect me to still be made at you after you did that to try and save Thace. I can be mad at Empire Records for ever putting you in that position but Keith, I’m not mad at you.”

_“But I…”_

“Keith, that’s why you called me right, so many times. You wanted to apologize and explain? I didn’t know the whole story so of course I didn’t want to answer and then Nyma, Rolo and Matt tell me that you acted like a diva so badly that it got you fired, which I know you wouldn’t do.”

_“What else could I do? I tried seeing if I could get them to agree to letting you be on the commercial at the last minute and then I found out they signed a contract with Empire to make me a star. I wasn’t going to give Empire what they wanted.”_ Keith said like it was obvious

“And this is exactly why I forgive you. You care about everyone more than yourself. You could get your reputation tarnished with rumours, I mean Axca’s trying to do that with me.”

_“God, I wanted to rip her head off. I can’t stand her sometimes.”_ Keith started to complain.

“Good luck, Nyma has first crack at her. Though, she told me Ryner ripped her apart.”

_“I heard. Oh, I wish I was there to see it. She so deserves it. Granted, I’m so there to see Ryner rip anyone apart. Except for me, it’s scary when it’s turned on you.”_

“Oh I know. Remember I was on that end of the stick when we meet.”

_“I’m glad we did get to meet.”_ Keith said softly, _“I know you said you forgive me, but I still want to earn your forgiveness.”_

Lance could tell Keith wouldn’t give that up. “Ok. How about you help me unpack into my apartment when I finally get it.”

_“Why are you getting an apartment?”_

“When I was sick, I decided I wanted to take a year off and my grandmother, who I was living with, didn’t like that so I moved out. I’m staying with Allura until I get a place. When I do, you are spending all day with me to help me move in. I’ve got a few ideas on things I want to do.”

_“I’m at your disposal your highness.”_

“Yes you are. Now, any chance I can get the whole story on what you did at the filming?”

_“Let’s put it like this, I’m lucky most Blades respect me or Thace would have really gotten grey hairs dealing with me.”_

As Keith launched into his story, Lance felt glad they were able to work things out. Keith was important to him and Lance didn’t want to lose anyone else.


	14. A reconciliation between a Prince and an Assassin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays! I had to finish a secret santa fic before I posted this and then realised that because of my new laptop, all the first words inside the quotations are in common letters not capital, so I had to go fix that. Anyway, please enjoy this chapter and I'll see you on Monday.

Keith touched the fob to the front of his apartment building, but it once again let out a loud beep and not allowing him entry. He let out a loud groan wondering what he was going to do now. Thace was with Ulaz and Keith had just gone to go pick up his hoverbike that had been in repairs for a while. Lance had texted him telling him he finally had signed for an apartment and Keith still owed him his services to help him get unpacked and he didn’t want to wait for Thace to drive him over. It still surprised him that Keith forgave him. he was still waiting for one of those text to say, ‘I don’t want to be around you anymore’. He knew Lance hasn’t like that, but he was still scared that he had messed up.

Keith didn’t have to wait long for until someone to leave the building and he grabbed the door and immiedtly went to the rental office where he saw the landlord coming from the office.

“Um, Mr. King?” Keith called over to the Arusian.

“Ah, Mr. Kogane. Come to pay your rent?”

“I’m sorry?” Keith asked confused. “my rent should be paid. My bank automatically sends the rent when it’s due from my account.”

“I never got. Something about insignificant funds?”

Insignificant funds? That was impossible. He just got paid. Keith took his phone out and checked his account.

Shit. Fuck. God fucking damn it. Thace had warned him that this could happen. He should have known getting himself fired from the commercial would end badly.

They cut his pay check in half, more than in half. Rent for his apartment was expensive. Keith didn’t really want to live here but it was one of the accepted apartments Empire wanted their talents in to keep eyes on them so to speak. Keith would have been fine in his old apartment. It was still in his name, though his mother had apparently been taking care of it. The money Keith spent for the repairs to his bike ate a huge chunk of the cash he had in his account which could have been used for rent. But the longer he would have left his bike at the shop, the more he would have been charged. What else could he have done?

“I’m so sorry Mr. King. It seems like my paycheque wasn’t deposited yet. They mentioned something about it. Sorry I didn’t let you know.”

“That’s fine. But you better pay soon. I’ll let you into your apartment and your godfather’s emergency fob should work, but I won’t wait long Keith. don’t think that’s just because you’re a big star, I won’t hold you accountable.”

“Yes sir.” He needed to find a way to fix this. As long as Thace and Ulaz didn’t find out.

* * *

 

“So, guess who I saw while we were avoiding helping Lance get all his stuff into Shiro’s car?” Pidge said to Hunk as they watched Allura and Shiro bring Lance’s things into his new apartment. It was pretty nice and decently priced as well. the living room and kitchen were all in one room and separated with a barn door was the bedroom with an ensuite bathroom. There was a balcony that offered a decent view, though Lance was in love with the large window in the bedroom.

“Who?” Hunk asked.

“Sven.”

“Wait a second? Your Sven? As in the guy that dumped you with no explanation and then waltzed up here like he a right to beg you to come back?” Hunk asked.

“Didn’t you think it was weird that right when Lance bumped into Keith, he was given a situation to get the chance to talk to him?” Pidge pointed out. “He told me he’d been keeping an eye on Lance and remembered how I was upset when I realised what he’d done strained Lance and Keith’s relationship, so he worked to give them a chance to meet again.”

“So, we have to thank _Sven_ for helping Lance talk to Keith again?” Hunk said, sounding almost astounded.

“I’m not planning on thanking him anytime soon, that’s for sure. But for helping Lance get that extra big smile on his face, I guess we have to at least thank him for that.”

Hunk really didn’t want to agree, but the smile Lance had on his face after he hung up with Keith, well, he hadn’t seen that smile since everything had gone down. Lance was happy, and Hunk couldn’t be too mad about that. It was just that fact it was Sven that annoyed him. Sven was an asshole, everything he did during the whole Mermaid Tear events showed that. He was still sure that he’d try something to take Lance’s soul but for now, Sven had his thanks.

“That’s everything. Are you sure you don’t want our help?” Allura asked.

“No, I want a day to spend with Keith and what better way then unpacking. I’ll be fine.” Lance promised.

“Alright then. Um, Shiro? Would you like to go to go get lunch together?” Allura asked, a slight blush taking over her face at the thought of spending time with her favourite artist.

“Sorry, I have a shift at the hospital. I’ll see you later then Lance.” Shiro said disappearing quick, leaving a disgruntled Allura, who waved to Lance and then left, leaving the teen by himself.

“Alright. Now I have to wait for Keith to get here. I guess I can unpack my bathroom and kitchen stuff while I wait. Hunk! Pidge! Get out here, I know your hiding to avoid working!” Lance yelled for the box of kitchen items he’d bought after securing his new apartment. It wasn’t much, just a plate and bowl set from IKEA, a few glasses and mugs and cutlery. He knew putting that away wouldn’t take long. His bathroom might take longer with the amount of bath bombs he had gotten recently and his whole face set.

“Oh alright. Might as well make ourselves useful until your boyfriend gets here.” Pidge teased.

“Oh, be quiet! Keith is not my boyfriend.” Lance said, his face getting red.

“Oh right, that’s Akira. Though to be honest, Keith is starting to win my vote on who you should date.” Pidge said.

“Shut up! That’s not funny!”

“Pidge come on, leave him alone. You can either help me put his kitchen things away or you can deal with his bathroom stuff.” Hunk said, stopping Pidge’s teasing.

“I think I’d rather do the kitchen. The amount of stuff Lance will have in his bathroom is almost insane.”

“Looking this good takes work.” Lance said.

“Yeah, a lot from the looks of your face cream collection.” Pidge sassed.

“Hey!”

After Hunk stopped Pidge from teasing Lance, he and his Shinigami partner unpacked the things for the kitchen, trying to decide where everything should go, while Lance tackled the bathroom. Lance sorted all his bath bombs into a wicker basket Allura had given him and put them on the bottom shelf of the closet inside the bathroom. The toilet was separated from the bathtub, so all the other bath items went into a caddy to sit in the corner of the room and Lance put all his face creams and such on the counter near the sink. He heard clattering in the kitchen as he went to go get his towels and put in the closet and hoped he’d be able to find things. He wouldn’t have passed Pidge to hide a few things if Hunk didn’t stop her.

He had broken down the boxes that were with him in the bathroom when his phone started to ring.

“Hello?” he answered.

_“Lance, I’m not that far. I had to stop at a conbini to get something to drink. Would it be ok for you to meet me outside?”_

Keith! “Yeah, of course. I can take the few boxes I have down to recycling on my way down.”

_“Awesome. You’ll know when I’m there. Don’t worry.”_

Lance was curious to know what Keith meant but he was sure he’d find out when Keith got there.

“Guys, Keith is gonna be here soon, so I’m meeting him downstairs. So, either stay as plushes or hidden ok?”

“Got it.” Hunk said, also changing Lance into his 19-year-old self.

Lance went downstairs and to the front of his building after dropping his boxes off in the recycling room. The streets were quiet with the heat keeping most people inside, so Lance didn’t face a mob of people wanting his autograph the minute he walked out of the building. He did know he’d have to fix his hair. The white hair was sticking to his neck already. Lance was wrapping his hair into a temporary bun when a red and white hoverbike turned onto the street. Lance watched it come down the street and eventually stop in front of him. The wings tucked into itself and settled down, allowing the driver to safely take their helmet off.

“Hey Lance.” Keith said, face clear of any Galra marks.

Lance’s hair fell out of his hand, unwrapping the bun as he stared at Keith on his hoverbike. This picture was, well, kinda hot. Not that Lance felt that way to Keith. No, he had Akira, he was allowed to notice if guys looked hot on hoverbikes. As Keith got off his hoverbike, Lance seemed to remember this was the first time he was seeing Keith again since the whole Mermaid Tear incident as Isamu. God, he had missed Keith so much even though he’d seen him as Lance. But now, the air was clear between them both. Knowing this, Lance threw his arms around Keith’s neck, holding close. The arms had been slow, but they came to rest on his waist before they held on tighter.

“I missed you.” Lance said, hiding his face into Keith’s neck.

“I missed you too. I was really sure you’d never forgive me.” Keith said.

“I’m glad we were able to fix things.” Lance said as they pulled apart. “I don’t want us to ever go through that again.”

“Me either.” Keith said with a gentle smile.

“Come on. I’ve got boxes to unpacked and I need you to help me put a curtain rod up.” Lance said, starting to pull at Keith’s arms.

Keith put his helmet in the compartment and let Lance pull him into the building. He took off his shoes when Lance let him into his apartment and took a look around. He noticed Lance’s green and yellow lion plushes sitting on the breakfast bar that separated the kitchen from the living room. Boxes filled a good part of the living room, but it didn’t seem like a lot.

“How much do you have to unpack?” Keith asked, looking over to Lance as he pulled his white hair into a high messy bun.

“Well don’t have a ton anyway since I moved out. most of the furniture was here already so it’s mostly my clothes and knickknacks and such.”

“And the curtain rod?” Keith asked.

“That’s for this really cool installation I saw online. I think it’ll look really beautiful. Now, help me move my clothes boxes into my room.” Lance ordered.

“Coming, your highness.”

Lance played music from his phone as he and Keith moved boxes into the correct places to start unpacking them. Keith refolded Lance’s clothes that onto the shelves of his exposed closet, laying the ones that would be hanging up. Keith unzipped Lance’s duffle bag to pull out more clothes when he saw a wooden box sitting on top of everything.

“What’s this?” he asked, as Lance was changing the song on his phone.

“Hmm, what’s what?” he asked looking over and seeing the in Keith’s hand. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen it before.” Lance knew it wasn’t his. He wondered if when Hunk was packing, he picked it up by accident. But it couldn’t have been in his room. Maybe it belonged to Allura.

He took it from Keith and undid the rope holding the box closed and took the cover off, stilling at what he found in the box.

“Lance? what’s wrong?” Keith crawled over and looked into the box. He blinked pulling out the picture that was in it. It was a woman. She looked Japanese, but she had blue eyes, the same blue as Lance’s. her hair was brown and tied away from her face as she smiled at the camera. “Who is she?”

“My mom.” There weren’t any pictures of his mom at his grandmother’s house, obviously none of his dad. He’d only seen one picture of his parents at Shiro’s apartment, a picture to when Shiro got into medical school along with still being in the band. He stood in the middle with his acceptance letter with Lance’s parents smiling on either side of him. the picture in the box was different. She looked to be about 16 in the photo, dressed in a kimono or a yukata, Lance wasn’t really sure. He knew that he shared his weak body with his mother and her eyes, but Shiro always talked about how he had his mother natural light. Lance could see it. Just from this picture alone, he could tell his mother could outshine anyone.

Leaning against Lance and handing him the photo, Keith said, “she looks like you. You have the same eyes.”

“Yeah. Apparently, there’s some foreigner in my grandmother’s blood line so every now and then a child would have the different coloured eyes. I was the first time there had been blue eyes twice in a row. I think this is the only picture I have of her. My grandmother has the others and we’re not speaking so. My godfather might have, but I don’t want to take the pictures he has of them.”

“Do you have a picture frame to put it in?” Keith asked.

“Um, maybe. I don’t know I don’t really have a ton of pictures except for my photo album I got when I moved from my foster home.” Lance asked suddenly wanting to put in a frame immediately.

“I know I place where you can get a really good frame. I’ll take you after we’re done.” Keith promised.

“Yeah, sure. What’s this?” Lance asked as he pulled out what looked like a base to a music box, allowing him to see all the mechanisms. “I wonder how you turn it on.” He turned it in his hands looking for a switch when all the movement opened the small drawer on it, dropping a piece of paper. He put the box down and picked the paper up opening it. “To Mio, with love.”

“Is Mio your mom?” Keith asked.

“Yeah and I think this is my dad’s handwriting. That means he gave this to her.” Lance said, a gentle smile coming to his face.

“Why a music box?” Keith asked.

“Well, my dad was a musician and my mom ran away from home, so she could be involved with it. Music meant a lot to them, so I think it was more of gifting the song that’s on this then the box itself. It had to be special. I wish I could figure out how to turn it on.” From the corner of his eye, he could see Hunk and Pidge poking their heads around the door. Hunk held up a paw to indicate he could do something, to which Lance nodded. “I have a friend who can look at it.”

“Better than trying to do it yourself and feeling like you could mess up. Let’s put this on your beside table so it’s out of the way.” Keith suggested. He watched Lance gently put the note back in the music box and put it and the photo back in the box it came from. “You said that you wanted to hear you godfather say your music was good because he was the closest thing to your parent, right? Well I honestly think your parents would be really impressed with you right now. Most idols would still hide after the whole set of events you went through, but you’re still pushing forward and I think you’re really brave.”

“Thanks Keith. Ok, let get back to work.”

They finished putting the clothes away and had started to put the small knickknacks Lance wanted in his room there. Keith raised an eyebrow when Lance pulled out a packaged bed canopy, to which Lance only replied, “I am a prince and I want to feel like one.” The white tulle fabric fit with Lance’s new blue bedsheets and galaxy printed pillows.

“Ok, so what’s this about a curtain rod?” Keith asked as he broke down boxes.

“The window used to have blinds but the last tenate ripped them off so my landlord said he could either put a curtain rod up or put blinds again and I wanted a curtain rod but I told him I wanted it a certain height for the installation and he said he could come do it or I could get someone to put it up for me. hence why you’re here. I hope you know how to use power tools.”

Keith was really beginning to feel like a servant of a prince as he got onto a chair with the rod, one the holders and a pencil so he could mark where to put the hooks. He held the holder in the middle of the rod and listen to Lance directing him on where he wanted it.

“Higher, more than that.” Lance instructed from his spot on his bed.

“What exactly is going on this?” Keith questioned as he listened to Lance’s orders.

“I’m putting string lights in front of the window and the curtain in front of them. I don’t want the curtain the drag on the floor, so I can trip on them. Higher.”

“Won’t that signal to people who lives here if they get curious enough?” Keith pointed out, having to push himself on his toes to get up to where Lance wanted.

“Seeing how no one knows what my actual name is and that’s what on the lease, they could try but no one has gotten close yet. A bit higher.”

“Lance, I’m on my toes. I can’t go much higher.”

“Ok fine, mark it right there. Gez you Galra are short, or is that just you?” Lance teased. He hadn’t forgotten that as Isamu, he was taller than Keith, not the other way around. The glare he got from Keith was so worth it.

While Keith drilled the hooks into the walls, Lance opened the packages that held the navy blue tulle like curtains and the box that held the long string of waterfall fairy lights. He also found the packages of the 3M Command hook that would hold up the lights and started attaching the backs to them, so they could hang the lights up before they put the curtain on the rod.

“Alright, the hooks are on. Now what?” Keith asked, getting off the chair so he could set the drill down and turned to Lance holding out a handful of the 3M hooks to him. “Seriously?”

“How else are the lights supposed to stay up?”

Keith sighed and took the handful of hook before climbing back on the chair again. Once he made a whole line of them, Lance passed up one end of the string, so Keith could attach them along and they were then able to see they needed to make another line. Once they were all hung up, Keith took the ties off of the waterfall lights, letting them hang down. With the curtains onto the rod, Keith hung it up, darkening the room a bit. He got off the chair and sit next to Lance, who held the remote for the lights and turned it on.

“It looks like the night sky.” Keith pointed out.

“That’s why I wanted to do this. I love star gazing. I don’t do it enough, but it’s my favourite thing.” Lance said as he watched the lights glow from behind the curtain.

“My dad would take me out to go star gazing whenever he had free time.” Keith said as he looked at the lights with a small smile on his face. “when I got the chance to go into space with Thace, it was like being surrounded by the galaxies. It was amazing.”

“I wonder if I’d get the chance.” Lance wondered out loud.

“Well, there’s the chance of tours. You could be surrounded by stars almost every day.”

Wasn’t that a thought? The chance to go around seeing the fans he gained, but Lance knew that was a big _if_ dream. This time next year, he’d be dead.

Lance nudged his shoulder against Keith’s, “maybe we could get Empire to agree to a colab tour. Maybe I could open for you.”

“I think it’d be more of the other way around. I’d be the one who do a set for your tour.” Keith said, nudging Lance back. “come on, we still have boxes to unpack.”

* * *

 

“You punched Lotor?” Lance asked as he pulled a slice of pizza off the pie. They had finished unpacking everything, so Lance ordered them pizza while they waited for it to get later so the store Keith suggested for frames wouldn’t be packed. They were relaxing on the bed, their feet propped up on the frame of the bed, trying not to pull on the canopy.

“The asshole annoyed me.” Keith said shrugging.

“It was your first day working with him.” Lance reminded.

“Was still an asshole. He’s fucking daddy’s boy and acts like he can do whatever he wants. He’s a living breathing example of why people hate Empire.”

“I wish you had been signed to Altea. We could hang out way more.” Lance said, wiping a bit of tomato sauce from his face.

“I’d probably be less stressed. Thace had been working there, hence why I didn’t mind. God, what a mistake that was, but I wouldn’t want to separate from Thace now.”

“yeah, Allura’s like a sister to me now. I wouldn’t want to separate from her either.”

“Do you think she’ll forgive me?” Keith asked, remembering how Allura acted towards him when he tried going after Lance.

“I explained what had happened to her, so she understands, but maybe apologize for not stopping Lotor. I think she knows it wasn’t your fault but still.” Lance explained.

“So, apologize for making her freak out about you missing. Got it. She like’s chocolate, right?” Keith asked.

“I think so. Yeah, she downed the really big chocolate cake at the summer show, the one at that hotel?”

“Oh yeah. Think she’s like a chocolate fruit bouquet?”

“I mean, she looks really jealous at all the ‘glad your back’ bouquets I got when I started back again. I had been gifted my fav ice cream so there’s that.” Lance listed.

“Food is the way to Allura’s heart. Cool.”

“That and shiny things.” Lance added on.

“I’m not buying Allura jewellery.” Keith said, looking pained. His bank account was already suffering, he did not want to add to it.

“Just letting you know for when you really piss her off.” Lance said, a teasing smirk on his face.

“Finish your pizza. We can head out soon to the store to get your mom’s photo a proper place to sit.” Keith said, sitting up and throwing his pizza crust into the box

Lance shoved the last two bites into his mouth as he got up himself and closed the box and took it into the kitchen, where Pidge and Hunk still sat, though their mouths were a bit dirty from the cheese dough bites he left out for them. he made sure to stick the box in the fridge, so Keith didn’t get suspicions.

“Do you want me to fix the music box while you’re gone?” Hunk whispered.

Lance shook his head, “I don’t want to risk questions if he comes back. I’ll put you in my room and you can follow after us.”

Keith waited in the living room as Lance changed his clothes, when he saw that Thace had been texting him. he saw the word rent in one of the previews and cleared his whole notification screen. Keith didn’t want to remember that right now.

“I’m ready.” Lance said, his pin and patch covered bag on his back and a cap on his head to somewhat hide his identity.

“Your gonna have to take that hat off when we get on my bike.” Keith pointed out, following Lance out and watching as Lance locked his door on his rather bare keyring.

“Please tell me you’re not going to drive insane.” Lance asked as they took the elevator down to the lobby of the building.

“Why does everyone ask that?” Keith asked out loud.

“No offense, but if you can punch Lotor on your first day of working on him, you can’t fault me for being worried about your driving skills.” Lance said.

“I’m licensed to fly a fighter plane.” Keith reminded once they reached the lobby and walked to the front door, where his red hover bike sat waiting for them.

“You were also 15 when you passed your Trail. How old were you when they made you take the fighter pilot test?”

“16. Still don’t see how that calls me a bad driver.” Keith said opening the compartment where he’d put his helmet and handed it to Lance before pulling another helmet out. “if you’re scared, you can just hold on tight.”

Lance glared at Keith, hearing the teasing tone in his voice. “You’re an ass.”

“And yet you still love hanging out with me.” Keith said, as if he couldn’t figure it out as he pulled his helmet on and climbed onto the bike. Lance followed on, stuffing his cap into his bag and pulling his hair out of the messy bun and fixing it into a ponytail so he could put the helmet on. “I wasn’t kidding when I said hold on tight.” Keith started the bike and the wings retracted out, lifting the two into the air.

Lance hadn’t hesitated to grab onto Keith’s waist tightly as Keith pulled onto the street and increased speed. The helmet blocked most of the wind from his face, but he could still hear it rushing past him and feel it against his body. Cancer and his weak body had kept him from doing a lot of stuff that being Isamu was allowing him to do now and being on a motorcycle was a new thing he got to do. Yes, it was a bit scary just weaving through traffic at such a high speed, but Lance knew as much as he’d been teasing Keith, he’d be careful. This was something that Lance wanted to do again, something he wanted to beat cancer to do again.

“You still alive back there?” Lance heard Keith’s voice like he was right next to him. He put his hand on the helmet, reminding himself he was wearing it. He looked over Keith’s shoulder to see his thumb holding down a button on the handlebar. He guessed that it allowed Keith to talk to him with his helmet on.

“Yeah. You just pay attention. I don’t want to be heading to the hospital after just getting back to work.” Lance said.

“Oh, shut up. I haven’t crashed, yet haven’t I?”

“Yet.”

In retaliation, Keith increased speed, making Lance yelp and tighten his grip, pressing firm against Keith.

“Asshole!” Lance yelled.

They finally got to the area of town the shop was in and Keith pulled into a nearby carpark, parking his bike in the corner so he wouldn’t trouble car drivers with his bike’s wings. Once the wings were retracted and the bike on the ground, Lance slowly pulled himself away, pulling off his helmet. Keith climbed off and pulled his own helmet off, running his hand through his hair.

“You coming off anytime soon?” Keith asked, smiling as Lance seemed more concerned with fixing his hair then getting off the bike

“When I regain feeling in my legs. You kept speeding up on purpose.” Lance said, fixing his bangs.

“you kept criticising my driving.” Keith defended. Lance glared at him to let him know he didn’t think he was right. “Fine. I'm sorry. You gonna get off now so we can get into the store before it closes?”

Still pouting, Lance got off the bike, his legs feeling slightly weak from all the adrenaline that had been running through his body during the ride.

Keith put the helmets away and led Lance to the store. The small store front was filled with different colourful frames and glassware. There were containers of small ornament’s, some of which were attached to the frames.

“This is so cool.” Lance said, slowly and carefully walking around, looking at all the differently designed frames.

 “You can get one that’s already designed, or you can get a plain one and choose the ornament’s you want on them.” Keith said, pointing to the table that held most of the plain frames.

“Let me look around first. How did you find out about this place?”

“Thace and his husband had their big 10-year anniversary back when I was first adopted by them, so I wanted to get them something and somehow convinced one of their friends to take me shopping. They didn’t really have any of their wedding pictures out and thanks to the reviews of this place, they were recommended online. I usually come here to get their gifts for special occasions. Plus, I’ve made nice with the owner’s son. Though, to be honest, the owner’s son’s boyfriend kinda hates me. He’s kinda an ass though.” Keith said.

“You didn’t hit him, did you?” Lance asked, sounding like he knew the answer.

“Only when he deserved it.”

“Which happened more often than not because James is incapable of thinking before he speaks.”

Lance turned to see a man standing behind them. He had dark skin, his curly hair showing off his undercut.

“This is Ryan Kinkade. Kinkade this is,”

“Your majesty.” Kinkade said bowing.

“It’s technically your highness, but it’s nice to meet you none the less.” Lance said shaking Kinkade’s hand.

“Kinkade’s dad has owned this store for a long time. He took over while attending university.” Keith explained.

“I’m majoring in fine arts to better help the store. You thankfully caught me on a day I wasn’t at school taking extra classes. What can I help you with?”

“I needed to get a frame. The photo is pretty important and meaningful, so I wanted the frame to reflect that.”

“Well, if the photograph is of a person, then is there anything in particular that they like?”

What did his mom like? Well, music was one. She ran away from home for it. Apparently, the sea was another according to Shiro, which was half the reason Lance loved it. he knew she loved his dad.

“Music, I know the person loved that more than anything. And love, if that makes any sense.” Lance explained.

“We have music themed ornament’s and heart shaped ones if you want to be literal. If you want, perhaps if the person associated colour with love, you could have the frame be that colour and the ornaments on the frame.” Kinkade suggested.

“Do you have mixed colours, like starts one way and fades into another?”

“We have a few. Just tell me the colours and I'll let you know.”

“Perfect. I'm gonna look at ornament’s first, I wanna double check something.” Lance said, knowing he’d have to text Shiro to get the correct answers.

“Sure, the music ornaments are in that back corner. Keith knows where they are.”

“Thank you.” Lance thanked, pulling his cellphone out of his pocket as he followed Keith, “he knows who you are?”

“We’re pretty good friends. He's seen me in Galra form more than enough to know who I was when I debuted.” Keith said, gesturing over to the boxes of the music themed ornament’s.

Most of them where either instruments or music notes. Lance picked up one that was sheet music, thinking about how his dad would write music. He also found what looked like an acoustic guitar. Most of the frames looked they didn’t have more than 4 ornaments. He pulled up his texting thread with Shiro, hoping he could catch him at a free time.

_Shiro, do you know what my mom’s favourite colour was? Dad’s too?_

Shiro had been quick to answer back.

_Your mom loved the colour blue and your dad liked red, though I'm so sure he owned nothing red in terms of clothes. That man wore about as much black as I did, and I was the Black Paladin_

_So, their colour was purple?_

_Yeah actually. Their wedding rings had a strip of purple in them. I should bring you their wedding photos I have. They didn’t have a ceremony, just a photo shoot and dinner, but I think they’d be better suited with you._

Lance smiled at the thought of having more pictures of his parents. He'd have to get another frame to have his favourite wedding photo in. Then he remembered something else. The song his dad wrote for his mom.

“Hey, do you know if they have snowflakes?” Lance asked Keith

“I think so. I’ll go look. Are you happy with the music ones?” Keith asked

“Yeah. I'm gonna look at the frames. My godfather is gonna bring me pictures of my parent’s wedding pictures, so the song sheet and the snow flake will go on that one and if they have a red to blue frame, that’ll be good. My mom’s will be blue, and I can switch this guitar for the treble clef.”

“Alright, you look at frames and I'll go find snowflakes.”

As Keith walked down the aisles, Lance jumped at the sudden voice’s next to him

“They’re like a married couple or a well established couple. Runs like a well oiled machine.”

Lance glared at Hunk and Pidge. “I had wondered where the two of you had disappeared to.” he said sarcastically.

“Oh please, you love us.” Pidge said. “Find anything good?”

Lance switched the guitar for the flowy treble clef like he said he would before walking towards the first set of blue frames he saw. “I know I've got to get two frames now. Shiro’s bringing me pictures of my parents.”

“You know, I can just imagine your parents. They'd be like totally cool people who’d tease you worse than we do when I comes to Keith.” Pidge said

“I mean, they would want their son to be safe, so they might result into them threatening us to take care of you while Shiro’s trying to find a way to beat our deadline.” Hunk added on.

Lance didn’t know if that would happen. He hoped, that his parents would understand his dreams and desires and want him to achieve that but still want him to be safe. But he’d never know. he could only dream.

“Ohh, this is pretty.” Hunk pointed out an aqua blue frame, the glass on the frame making it seem like waves. It was perfect.

“Hey, I found snowflakes and Kinkade said they have red to blue frames. I'm guessing you wanted it to make purple in the middle?” Keith said, holding his hand out, where different shaped snowflake ornaments sat.

“That’s perfect and I found the perfect colour for my mom’s photo.” Lance said, gesturing to the aqua blue frame. “oh! I like this one.” Lance said taking an iridescent snowflake with 5 points.

“I guess we’re ready. Kinkade! We’ve got our choices!”

* * *

 

“You should come by tomorrow. Allura said she’d be by with a few friends from Altea to welcome me to my new apartment. I didn’t want a big welcome party.” Lance said as they stood outside his apartment

“I’ll see if I can. You sure you don’t need any more help?” Keith asked

Lance shook his head, “we unpacked everything. Just text me when you get home and try and come tomorrow. Allura said they’d be around by 2 pm.”

“I’ll try. Lance? I know I've said it enough today, but I'm really glad you forgave me. I missed you too much.”

Pulling Keith into a hug that was kindly received, Lance said, “I missed you too. Which is why I really want you there tomorrow.”

“I’ll try, I promise.” Keith said, holding Lance just a bit longer before pulling away. “I should get back home. Make sure you put your mom’s photo in her frame. I think she deserves to see you in action.”

“I will text me when you get home ok? Bye.” Lance said, heading into his building

“Bye.” Keith said, waiting till Lance was inside before heading to his bike. Now it was back to reality, where he had little money and the chance of being evicted. Mr. King had a strong deadline for rent and if it wasn’t met, well.

His mind was so focused on things he could do to come up with his rent without starving himself or selling himself more than he did with Empire, he hadn’t realised that he tapped his fob onto the front door of the building and it let out a happy beep. As in gaining him entry. How did that happen? He walked into the lobby and sitting in one of the armchairs on his phone was Ulaz. He hadn’t seen his other godfather in a while, with work at the hospital and Keith’s own schedule taking up time. Whenever he had time though, he was usually spending it with Lance.

“Ulaz.” he called, making the Galran doctor look up.

“Ah, Keith. Got in I see.”

How did? “What do you mean, I got in?”

“To the building. You’re behind on your payments, which isn’t like you. What happened? What did Empire do?”

“How do you know I was behind on my payments?”

“Keith, what is the legal age on Arus in the human conversion of years?” Keith shrugged. Once he had finished high school, he forgot most of what he learned. “it’s 21, so Mr. King likes running this place on the principals of Arus, such as, if an underage minor is experiencing trouble to get in contact with their guardians.”

Oh, that’s how.

“Why on Earth didn’t you tell me and Thace that you couldn’t pay your rent?”

“Ulaz, we deal with the apartment my dad and lived at plus your own house with Thace. I wasn’t about to beg you for money.”

“Your mother takes care of the apartment you lived in with your father.”

“Not like she cared any other time.” Keith muttered but Ulaz heard him

“Keith. I'm not going to sit here and defend your mother but know that she does love you.”

“Again, really hard to believe. Did you pay my rent?”

Ulaz sighed, “Yes. Thace is in meetings all day. Something about plans for your next album. I got the call instead and I paid it over the phone.”

“I didn’t want you to do that. I didn’t want you to even find out.” Keith said, turning and walking off to the elevator, Ulaz following him

“I will never understand why you always seem to want that. Keith, you might be an adult, but you are still my son and I’ll never stop trying to take care of you.”

“I know that, but I wanted to try and take care of this myself. I got myself into this mess, I had to find my own way out.” Keith said, roughly pressing the button for elevator and not facing Ulaz

“Which would of lead to you having to ask Empire for forgiveness. Once they see that you have nowhere else to go, they would have trapped you under their thumb. Once you go back to them and release songs again, they’ll stop cutting your cheques in half. This is a warning for them. If you become homeless and the tabloids find out it’s because your cheques were cut, they’ll be the ones in hot water.”

“I still didn’t want to have to worry you about this.” Keith muttered, knowing that Ulaz and Thace meant well, but having them worry about him was the last thing he wanted.

“I’m never not going to worry about you Keith, get used to that.” Ulaz said.

The ride up to Keith’s apartment was silent. It was only when they were let into the apartment by Keith’s fob, did Ulaz speak.

“Where were you today? I’m sure Thace would love to know why you hadn’t answered your phone, other than you avoiding him.”

“I spent the day with Lance. After we talked, I offered to help him move into his new apartment and we hung out. I know I haven’t seen him for almost a week because of what happened, but I missed hanging out with him, just talking to him.” Keith looked over at Ulaz, who had this look on his face. “what?”

“Nothing. Just remembering when I would talk to Antok about Thace like that.”

“Very funny. I don’t like Lance like that.” Keith said, going to drop his stuff in his room when he heard Ulaz say something about how his statement sounded familiar.

He didn’t feel that way to Lance. He didn’t. right?

* * *

 

“Where did you get the frames from?” Shiro asked, hearing Allura mess around in the kitchen with Pidge and Hunk.

“I went shopping with Keith after he helped me unpack. Hunk found the box in the shed and said he had this feeling to take it and I’m glad he did. This is the only photo I have of mom.” Lance said staring at the picture sitting in it’s new aqua blue frame.

“Well you’re about to have another. Here.” Shiro pulled out a slightly buldged envelop from his jacket pocket and handed it to Lance. “Your dad was a fan of film cameras and I have the negatives so I printed new pictures for me. These are the orginals.”

“Really?” Lance asked, taking the envelop

“Take your pick. There’s more than enough photos for you to switch it out every few weeks if you want.”

Lance pulled the pictuers out and there they were. His dad with his brown hair and hazel eyes, the curles of his hair falling in his face. Lance remembered how curly his hair was when he was a kid. Only humidty would bring them back. His mom had her black hair and blue eyes, the same ones Lance saw in the mirror everyday. Shiro had mentioned it wasn’t a traditional wedding so his mother was dressed in a long sleeve off the shoulder white dress while his dad was dressed in slacks, a dress shirt and a waistcoat. It was also obvious his mom was pregnet with him but it made her glowing. There were a few that also had Shiro in the picture and then he found one that had all three of them in it, his mother standing in the middle.

“I think I’ll hang this one up.” Lance said showing Shiro the picture.

“Well I did see these fairy lights with clips for pictuers at the nearby department store. Should I get you those?”

“Sure, as soon as a figure out where to put them. I hadn’t fully thought the canapy over but I don’t want to get rid of it.” Lance said

“I think you’re allowed to indulge. See any picture good enough to go in the frame.”

“There are a few conden – wait. This one.” Lance knew he hadn’t gone through all the pictures but the one he was looking down on seemed perfect. His father was hugging his mother from behind, their hands resting on her bump and for some reason Lance could tell their smiles weren’t just because they were celebrating their wedding.

“They were just going to do a picture where Seb had his arms wrapped around Mio but then you started to move a bit. It was actually the first time they felt you move. Kinda early considering but you apparently wanted to tell your parent’s congradulations.” Shiro said.

“It’s perfect.” Lance put the other pictuers down and picked up the frame and fixed in inside before closing the back and setting it right next to his mom’s picture and behind the music box. “now I can tell them good morning.”

“Yeah. Lance, where did you get that music box?” Shiro asked, pointing at the music box. Hunk didn’t fix it yet, so Lance couldn’t hear the music on it.

“Oh this was in the box with my mom’s picture. There was a note in it that said, ‘To Mio, with love’. My dad gave this to her right?”

“Yeah. And the music on it is the melody for Eternal Snow. The song your dad wrote for your mom.” Shiro said

“Really? I have to get Hunk to fix this.” Lance said

“Later, you still have a house warming party to run. I can try and see if I find the lyrics.”

“Please. I have to start getting ready soon to record another song at some point. If Kolivan and Altea Records agree to it, I wanna do a cover of a Paladin’s song. I might want to do Eternal Snow.” Lance said, setting the music box down and turning to Shiro.

“If you do, I’ll eagerly listen to it. Come on, I have to leave soon and I want to at least make a toast to your new life.”


	15. The Prince's concert

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I'm flying to London tomorrow, here's an early chapter! This one was so long and it's gonna have a lot of links so get ready. Most of them, like [these](http://blf19.tumblr.com/post/157156317729/my-design-for-alteanlance-and-thanks-everyone) , [this](http://sasuhinasno1fan.tumblr.com/post/158649637203/brobuddypal-more-altean-lance-ceremonial) and [this](http://sasuhinasno1fan.tumblr.com/post/157671074058/brobuddypal-i-always-thought-alteanlances) one, though this last picture is more of a reference for the bow. [This](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xo_wGxp07o) is the first song to be sung by The Rebels and [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKsQGgnb-tQ) is the second. Lance's concert outfit is from ForsakenAngel88's drawing [here](http://forsakenangel88-art.tumblr.com/post/162821625760/2-of-6-maybe-8-of-my-paladin-set-done-i-really) and [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SOxf4gJcOE) and [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_TJ4B1HAaE) are the songs Lance did. Whew, if I can't do links without having to look at a guide after this then that had just been a massive waste of time. There was a picture I had for how I imagined The Rebel outfits but tumblr is being really weird and not bringing up any of my Lance pictures I reblogged. Also, be warned, there is a scene that has a slight mention of sex, it's literally just the first few lines. You can scroll past it really quick if you don't want to read it, it'll be after the first line break and end after the next.

“I’m sure you are all wondering why I’ve asked you here.” Kolivan stated, staring at Lance and The Rebels, who all stood in his office with their managers standing with them. “Isamu, I’m sure you’ve seen the response for _Myself_ , especially after your comeback.”

“It was more of a small break than a comeback but ok. What about it?” Lance felt the need to point out.

“And no offence Isamu, but what the hell does it have to do with us?” Matt asked. He had recently been wearing contacts more, but Lance could still just see the similarities between him and Pidge.

“What if I told you that the public wants Isamu to do a singles concert and I want him to do at least a few covers of his choice and I want you guys to open?” Kolivan said.

“Wait, a concert? But I only have one song.” Lance said.

“That’s why it’s called a singles concert. You usually make a huge deal of performing your single right before you release your next song. You probably won’t do another concert until you have an album’s worth.” Nyma explained.

“And Hira said she wants preparations for you to release your next song starting sometime soon.” Allura pointed out.

 “How about it?” Kolivan asked. “you’ll have to say goodbye to the rest of your summer if you want to do this and you’ll have a lot of rehearsals, photo shoots for merch and give promotional talks.”

This was kinda a big deal. This was bringing him closer to Akira and it was funny to even think that next year, Lance could not be here. Lance had the freedom he never had before, and Lance wanted to do what he wanted, in moderation of course.

“Yeah, I want to do it, if you guys are cool with it of course.” Lance asked The Rebels.

“I’m down with it. How about we get you to perform with us on one of our songs? It would be such a cool way to open the show.” Rolo said.

“Ooh! What about we do _Higher_? We can get him on silks with us. It’ll be so cool!” Nyma said.

“Whoa, whoa. Hang on a minute. We still need to decide a few things first. Isamu, did you by any chance anything you wanted to try with this concert? Did you have any ideas about the theme of the concert or a keyword you wanted to be the focus?”

Something he wanted to be the focus? Lance couldn’t think of something immediately, so he tried thinking about something important to him.

“Maybe, the quote?” he said.

“The quote? You mean the one that you used as inspiration for your stage name?” Allura clarified.

“Yeah. ‘In the presence of the moon, who pays attention to the stars?’ ‘If someone can’t take the time to appreciate the stars that shine brightly no matter what, then they don’t deserve to gaze upon them.’ Maybe it can focus on stars or something like that? Oh, also, would it possible that we could livestream the event?” Lance said.

“I’ll see what I can do. I’ll leave the opening to you and The Rebels. Get ready your highness, you’ve got a lot of work ahead of you.”

“Yes sir. Oh, I was wondering if I could ask something else?”

“What is it?” Kolivan asked.

“Any chance it can be on the 28th of July?”

“July starts in a week.” Kolivan pointed out.

“Well then we better get to work.”

* * *

 

Allura stifled a moan when her phone started ringing. Hira pulled away, looking annoyed as Allura got off the bed and grabbed her flashing cell phone.

“Hello? Yes Kolivan, what is it?...Isamu said he wanted to do a few Spanish songs. I don’t know how many he had decided he wanted to do.” As Allura spoke on the phone she riffled through the pile to look for her clothes. “Kolivan, Isamu is half Cuban and speaks fluent Spanish, I don’t think he needs a tutor to tell him how to pronounce the words. I’ll be over at the office soon, so we can talk more then.”

“This is becoming tiresome.” Hira complained from her spot on her bed.

“Well you’re the one that said you wanted him to have a solo concert, so you don’t get to complain. Besides, I’m not in the mood to have to throw my clothes on as quickly as possible when were done so your husband doesn’t catch me.” Allura said pulling her clothes back on and pulling her hair up to hide the messiness. “you’re gonna have to get used to me giving my time up for Isamu.”

“If it wasn’t for the fact that I consider Altea better than Empire and I actually didn’t mind Isamu, I’d be threatening his career.”

“Thankfully as cruel as you can be, you’re not that cruel. Try not to forget your wedding ring again.” Allura’s phone went off and she answered as she picked up her bag and left the bedroom of a house she wished she didn’t step foot in all those years ago. Maybe she wouldn’t feel so dirty. “hi Lance. I was just thinking of you.

_“Oh, you know me, I love running through your mind. I was wondering if you can come by my apartment to help me choose the Spanish songs I wanted to sing. They’re Mexican Spanish as opposed to Cuban, but they are some of my favourite songs.”_

Especially when it involved him. Sweet innocent Lance, who had the worst hand of cards and a mistress manager shouldn’t be one of them.

“Of course. I have to go stop by and see Kolivan and I’ll be right there.”

_“Thanks Allura. Knew I could count on you.”_

If only he knew. Then he’d never want anything to do with her.

* * *

 

“The Stars of the Forgotten Prince.” Keith read from the packet that held some information for Lance’s solo concert.

“That’s the title of it yea. What do you think? Is it too weird or cheesy?” Lance asked.

“Well, thinking about how you use the quotes as inspiration, it kinda focuses more on the first part on the whole thing.” Keith said, stretching more on the couch.

They were at Lance’s apartment and after Lance told Keith the news about the concert, Keith offered to help in any way he could.

“Ok, so how do I change it, so it encompasses the whole quote?”

Keith let out a thinking hum. “The Forgotten Prince isn’t so bad, it might need something more.”

“The Shining Forgotten Prince? No wait, that sounds like a greeting for a K-pop band.”

“A bit. Maybe we’re over thinking it. When are you doing pictures for posters and merch?” Keith asked.

“2 days from now. I know merch will be charms, wrist bands, concert tees, quote tees and posters.”

“I mean the photos could show the second part of the quote. Like I said, it’s not a bad title. Ok, think of the title and on 3 tell me what you think of it.” Lance nodded. “Ok, 1, 2, 3.”

“Like it.” Lance answered.

“There you go. I guess overthinking it made it sound weird but they’re essentially letting you run the photoshoot in terms of what you want right?” Lance nodded. “Then I think your set. Was there anything else you were worried about?”

“Uh, well, on the charms is gonna be the mark of Isamu, Prince of Altea. I’ve already got permission from the Altean Embassy to use the mark of the Blue Paladin in it. I was thinking the charms would be an Altean bow with the Paladin symbol engraved on it.”

“That doesn’t sound bad. I’ve got the mark of the Blade on a lot of my merch.” Keith said.

“Right, it’s usually a blade too right?” Lance said, remembering how some of Red’s album covers had just the blade on them.

“Yep. I think the bow will be fine, as long as your happy with how it comes out looking.”

“We sent in the concept sketches, so we should be getting the mock ups to approve soon. I just still can’t believe this is happening. I’ve been scheduled for so many talk shows and radio interviews for this concert.” Lance said.

“Just imagine how it’ll be when you have a full-length concert.” Keith pointed out.

“Ahh, I know. This is gonna be the best birthday present I gave myself.”

“Wait, what? What did you say?” Keith asked sitting up and fully facing Lance.

“What?”

“Lance, did you schedule the concert on your birthday? Your birthday is on the 28th right?” Keith asked.

“Oh, I told you?” Lance asked.

“When we first met? Wait, do you even know when my birthday is?” Keith questioned.

“October 23rd. You forget I’ve been your fan for quite a long time.” Lance reminded.

“Ok, fine whatever. But I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me you planned this on your birthday.” Keith said, sounding insulted and a bit hurt.

Lance shrugged a bit. “I’m used to not telling people what I plan to do for my birthday, I’m sorry.”

“You had better not be keeping anything else from me.” Keith said.

Lance glanced over to where Pidge and Hunk sat in their plush form on the armchair across from where he sat. “I’m not, I promise.”

“I can’t believe you thought I never knew when your birthday is. I’m hurt.”

Lance shrugged. “Like I said, I never really told anyone. The Rebels only know because they were there when I asked.”

“I’m getting you a present.” Keith said.

“You really don’t have to.” Lance tried saying but Keith looked at him with such a deadpan look on his face.

“You don’t get to complain. I’m getting you a present and that’s that.”

“Bossy.” Lance muttered loud enough for Keith to hear him, to which Keith started poking him in the stomach and the sides in retaliation, causing Lance to start giggling at his sensitive spots and try and pull away but Keith kept following him.

“I don’t think Akira stands a chance.” Pidge whispered to Hunk as they watched Keith chase Lance around his apartment.

“I hope Lance realizes that soon or it’s gonna lead to a lot of broken hearts.” Hunk said as Keith cornered Lance, ignoring Lance’s pleas.

* * *

 

 “Good morning everyone!” Lance greeted as he and Allura walked into the room for the photo shoot for merch and promotional posters.

“Morning.” Riku greeted as he stopped directing workers. “Ready for your shoot?”

“As I’ll ever be. I brought a friend if that’s ok.” Lance asked holding the door partially open.

“As long as none of the pictures get out without my permission.” Riku said, his attention starting to drift back to telling the workers where to move things.

“Cool. He said you can come in!” Lance called, pushing the door open so Keith could slide through the door.

“Is that Red?” Riku asked as he watched Keith follow Lance over to hair and makeup, greeting the other members of the team he passed.

“They’re really good friends and Red’s schedule was really light, so Isamu invited him. I think he’s still nervous about this concert so someone who knows what he’s doing with him is a big relief. Besides, you’ve worked with Red before, right? You know he won’t be letting out any photos without your permission.” Allura reassured.

Riku stared after where he’d seen Keith follow Lance to hair and makeup and shrugged. “As long as he knows.” He said before going back to directing people.

Allura walked into the room where hair and makeup were being done, Lance’s long white hair tied up and away, so the makeup artist could focus on his face. Keith was on top the counter in a small sliver that hadn’t been covered with products, talking to Lance. It was strange how just speaking to Keith made Lance seem happier than he had been when he was when he wasn’t talking to him. She was rooting for Lance to find Akira again but just seeing his ease with Keith, it was hard not to root for them to get together.

“Isamu.” She said, walking into the room. As much as she wanted to stay there and wonder how their life as a couple could be, they had work to do. “A friend from the Altean embassy will be by soon with two types of Altean bows for you to use in the shoot.”

“Yay, I’m so excited.” Lance said, trying not to start moving as his makeup was being put on.

“We’ll start you out simple in terms of outfits and then when the bows get here, we’ll get really crazy. You’re going to love the outfit I choose for you to have with one of the bows.” The person in charge of outfits said.

Like they said, Lance’s first outfit was simple. Shorts, a long sleeve black shirt with cut outs for his shoulders and a blue and gold vest with a white hood. His circlet was simple with a gem in the middle that kept most of his hair in one place.

“Ok, I want these pictures to be happy and cheerful so give me that big smile of yours, your highness.” Riku ordered as Lance stepped in front of the bright blue backdrop.

“Yes sir.” Lance called as his famous smile came to his face with his first pose.

Allura and Keith were focused on the laptop the pictures were coming up on after Lance’s second outfit change when Allura’s phone started to ring.

“Hi? Are you outside?” she answered excitedly. “Perfect. I’ll be right there.” She hung up and turned to Keith who had been looking at Lance wink at the camera. “If Lance goes into costume change and I’m not back yet, tell him I got his bows.”

“Got it.” Keith answered. Once Allura was gone, Riku called for a costume change and Lance got off the box he had been standing on. “Wanna take a guess as to what Allura is getting right now?”

“Getting right? Oh! The bows are here aren’t they?” Lance asked excitedly.

“Get changed and you’ll see.” Keith said.

“Oh, one sec. I like my outfit, come take a picture with me.” Lance begged, pulling Keith over to an empty vanity mirror.

“You do know that if Empire sees a picture of the two us, they’ll practically declare war on you right?” Keith pointed out and Lance picked his phone up and pulled Keith closer, so they were shoulder to shoulder.

“I won’t post it till after. Besides I thought you weren’t scared of them.” Lance said, wrapping an arm around Keith’s and holding the phone up to block most of their faces in the mirror.

Keith waited until Lance snapped at least 3 pictures before answering. “I’m not scared but they do hold my pay check.”

“I didn’t even know about the pay check thing till a week later but all that does is show us what a bunch of bullies they are.” Lance said, letting himself be led to the makeup chair.

“I don’t think they’ll care, but then again, wouldn’t be me without pissing them off. But wait till after the posters are out to post it. We should be starting prep for my next album and they can’t get mad at me during that.” Keith strategized.

“Oh, real assassin of assholes, this one.” Lance’s costume handler said. “Prince Isamu, I really think you’ll like this one. I was talking with your crew who are doing your makeup and such for your concert and they had something like this in your mind for your outfit.”

Lance’s eyes started sparkling as he looked at the outfit over his shoulder. “Oh, I really hope so.”

“Well let’s get you ready so you can take a look at what you could look like.”

Keith took his spot back on the counter as they started on Lance’s hair, his make up only being touched up a bit to match the blues in the fabric.

“Have they talked to you about doing a new song after the concert?” Keith asked.

“Kinda, they mentioned I should start writing something, but I need to wait to see if I can do something before we get there.” Lance said. “have you thought of anything for what you’re doing?”

“It’s gonna be a mini album so it’ll be like maybe 4 songs. I do have an idea for one of them and we’ll see if this duet I want to do with a friend works out as well as this other idea. It’s been on my mind to do it for a while, I’ve just finally had the freedom to do a lot more with this album so I’m excited to do it, if my producer says yes.”

“You’ve got Lotor right? Dad owns the place?” the hair stylist asked as the sectioned another part of Lance’s hair.

“You can see why I’m a bit hesitant.” Keith said.

“I mean you could always punch him if need be.” Lance teased, using his foot to poke Keith’s leg.

“It’ll be tempting.” Keith said. “oh, so very tempting.”

“I had to work with him once for a photoshoot. What a spoiled brat. I don’t know who’s worse in being rude though, him or his dad.” The hair stylist complained.

“Great, I act like a diva to try and get myself fired from a commercial and I get in trouble, he does it and he probably got a pat on the back.” Keith complained. “Why do I do this again?”

“Because you get people like me to cheer you on on stage.” Lance reminded, shooting him a cheeky smile.

“Of course, that makes so much sense.” Keith said slightly sarcastic.  

Lance was dressed by the time Allura was back, a blonde Altean following her. Lance was back in his place, his hair reminiscent of Mirkwood Elf and his clothes every bit prince like. Black and gold leggings with white leg guards, a blue tunic and different sashes of blue and gold. His circlet was weaved around his head with a blue crystal in the centre.

“Ooh! Is that them?” Lance asked bouncing in place like an excited child.

“This is them. Romelle, I would like to introduce you to Isamu, Prince of Altea. Isamu, this is my friend Romelle. She was working as a model when I was a singer.” Allura introduced as Lance shook her friend’s hand. “While I decided to stay in the business, she decided to do better and become a diplomat.”

“Please, only because my brother was doing it and if someone didn’t keep an eye on him, goodness knows what he could have gotten himself into. He could have been taken for quintessence testing if I didn’t keep an eye on him.” Romelle said flippantly, before focusing on Lance, “now, I think we had better get this prince outfitted for battle. I know I said I’d bring 2 but my boss said I could bring another one. One is a traditional wooden Altean bow. The other is a Bayard bow and the last one is a bow made of quintessence infused material.”

Usually the word quintessence would scare Lance because of his sensitivity to it but Lance was perfectly healthy now and very excited to try them.

“This is just me, but from how you look now, I think we should try the Bayard bow. We can look at the quintessence one after. If that’s ok with you?” Romelle asked, looking over at Riku.

“Hey, you know how they work, go for it. Let’s get lights ready and have the blue backlight on standby!”

Romelle handed Lance a traditional Bayard, the handle in the middle of the white mechanism. Moments after it was in Lance’s hand, blue light shined from it. The form of a bow formed in blue pieces, the only whole pieces, the arch of the bow and the string.

“See those blue vectors right by your hand? Pull the string back and it’ll form the arrow. This is only a practise bow, so it’ll lock before it can form a full arrow and it won’t release any half formed arrows, and it’ll look great in pictures.” Romelle explained.

“And that’s all I need to hear. Get over here your highness! We’ve got concert photos to take.”

* * *

 

“So, what is this big news you want to tell everyone?” Lance was asked by the host of the talk show he was on.

Lance gesture for the stage hand to come over and hand him the rolled up poster he had brought with him.

“I would like to announce, as I’m sure some of my fans would now know because the announcement was scheduled to go up now, but I will be having my first ever, solo live concert!” Lance unrolled the poster, the one that would now be on the front of every music store they could get. The picture that was chosen was in the same outfit that Lance had been the most excited for, the quintessence bow in his hand as he gazed at the camera, looking like he was ready to take whatever was thrown at him. In editing, Riku decided to take the literal idea of stars and the freckles that had stared to appear on Lance’s face because of the hot sun had been covered with tiny stars.

“It’s the ‘Stars of the Forgotten Prince’, happening at Atlas Theatre on July 28 at 7pm. We have VIP and General Admission tickets for sale on the Altea Records website or any music store that has this poster in the window. VIP tickets get to have a small get together with me and The Rebels, who will be opening. I really hope you guys can be there. But don’t worry if you can’t. This concert will be live streamed. So, this is your prince begging you, please come see my first ever concert. I’ll be seeing you there!”

Watching the announcement on TV, Ezor scoffed. She sat in a greenroom with Axca and Zethrid waiting to be called onto their own tv program to perform.

“He goes off suddenly and he then awarded with kind greetings and a solo concert? If that ever happened to us, we’d never recover!” Ezor complained.

“That spoiled little prince will get what’s coming to him, don’t worry.” Zethrid said.

“Sooner rather than later I hope and hopefully something not even Red can get him out of.” Axca said.

“When I’m done with him, he’ll wish he never even tried to make a name for himself,” Zethrid said, watching as Isamu was handed a mic and started singing _Myself_.

Over the next few weeks, if Lance wasn’t in dance rehearsal, band rehearsal, fittings, rehearsal with The Rebels for the song he’d perform with them or tech rehearsal, he was on any talk show or radio show doing so much promo for the event. He’d gotten so many messages from Plaxum and the others wanting Lance to come, upset when Lance said the whole concert could be bad for him and his weak body but promised to be thinking of him at the concert. The girls Lance had made friends with at his first photoshoot also promised to be there. Shiro promised to watch the live stream on his shift at the hospital after warning Lance that if he looked tired on stage, he’d be pulled from the singing thing.

“When are you going to let him know you fixed the music box?” Pidge asked as she watched Lance and Allura talk to the costume designer as he tried on his costume for the final time before the show.

“After the concert. It’ll be like a congratulation present for doing so well.”

“That’s a great idea.” Pidge said, perking up. “I think Lance would enjoy it a lot. It would be a way his parents could tell him how proud of him they are too.”

“Exactly. By the way, have you seen Sven recently?” Hunk asked.

Pidge shook her head. “No sign of him or his multiarmed friend. It would be too much to hope he went back to the Underworld wouldn’t it?”

“Knowing him, yes. Oh, we still have to do something for Lance’s birthday. The music box can’t be the only thing.”

“That’s right. But what? We gave him the whistle.” Pidge thought.

“Could we upgrade maybe? Something that won’t get lost and will allow us to find him easier?” Hunk suggested.

Pidge’s ears stilled and perked up with the rest of her body. “I think I have an idea. We’ll gonna need his whistle so one of us will have to stay close to keep an eye on him. Alright, now listen close. We’ve got work to do.”

* * *

 

Lance carefully wrapped the fabric around his leg and let himself bend backwards, arching his back. He knew he was flexible, all the dance choreo had shown that, but silks were new and hard. But The Rebels did it for the song he was performing with them, so he had to learn.

“You’re doing good Isamu. Use the other piece to hold yourself as you go back further.” Matt instructed from the ground.

He did what Matt said, trying not to tense up at the thought of losing his grip and falling. He could do this.

“Isamu!” at the sudden call of his name, Lance lost grip and scrambled to grab to something, so he wouldn’t fall off.

“Whoa, easy. Can you get back straight again and no gay comment.”

“Bi and one second.” Lance pulled himself up, so he was holding onto both pieces of fabric.

“Ok, now come down like we taught you, nice and slow.”

Lance went as slow as he could until he finally felt his feet touch the mat and took a deep breath. That had been too close. He turned to tell off whoever called his name but stopped at the frazzled look on Allura’s face.

“Allura, what’s wrong?” Lance asked.

“And did it have to happen right as Isamu was up there, he could have fallen off.” Matt seemed to take telling Allura off for Lance. “It won’t do good for the main act to get hurt 2 days before his concert.”

“That’s why I’m here. They’re won’t be a concert because someone cancelled the venue!”

“What!” Both singers yelled in surprise.

“Someone called saying they were from Kolivan’s team and told the people at Atlas Theatre that the concert was postponed.” Allura explained.

“Kolivan’s team?” Matt questioned.

“Kolivan is furious. According to his team, they tried getting the theatre back, but another event got the venue.”

“So, we have nowhere to perform now?” Lance asked. “what are we going to do if we can’t find a replacement place?”

“If we can’t find anything, then we will have to really postpone the concert.” Allura said. “I have to get back to the office to work with everyone else to try and find a replacement place.”

“I can call some of my contacts and see if I can find us a place.” Matt said.

“Please. Come on, I’ll take you home.” She said to Lance.

Lance shook his head. “I’m not going to go home and fiddle my thumbs while you guys try and find a place. This is my concert, so I’m going to help you. I can go to these places in person and ask if they have any availability.”

Allura looked like she wanted to protest but she held her tongue. “You two go get changed, I’ll drop you off.”

The two quickly got changed, Hunk looking confused from his place in Lance’s bag until Matt started to loudly complain about what had happened.

“Whoever did that had better hope I don’t find them. They had no right to do that.”

“If it was someone from Empire, I don’t think they’d care.” Lance pointed out as he pulled his shoes on and picked his bag up.

“Someone cancelled the concert?” Hunk whispered.

“The venue, but same difference at this point.” Lance replied pulling his phone out and waited for Matt to fix his shoes.

_ Have you heard anything about how my concert is pretty much cancelled from anyone at Empire? _

Lance waited, hoping Keith would be able to answer. Thankfully by the time Matt was ready and they were heading back to Allura, he got one.

**Ezor looked extremely proud of herself. I have a feeling I’ve been kept in my album meetings for way too long. It’s a mini album, there’s way less to discuss here. What happened? What can I do?**

_ If it was Ezor, she cancelled the venue. We have nowhere to perform. _

** Trying to find a venue now is gonna be hard **

_ I have to try. If you can think of any place, text it to me. I’m going to ask places in person. _

** I’ll tell you all the places I know but Lance, I think if you do find a place, it’ll be a miracle **

Lance was going to need a miracle, he could tell.

Allura dropped him off on a theatre that was on their list and it started the long list of ‘No, sorry’, ‘Not possible’ and just doors slamming in his face. No one seemed to care or if they did, had their hands tied.

“What am I going to do? How am I going to explain this to my fans? How am I going to be able to get my voice out to Akira?” Lance wondered out loud as he took a break on a bench.

“Hey, Lance, listen to me. I know this seems like it’s nothing but if there’s anyone who can push through this, it’s you. You showed me that.” Hunk said.

“Hunk, I don’t think I even have a chance of getting through this one.”

“But what about Akira? What about everyone who wants to hear you sing?” Hunk asked, trying to stop Lance from giving up.

“You don’t think I know this, but what can I do? If it was Ezor who did this, then she won the fight.” Lance said, getting up from the bench.

“I didn’t think the prince would give up so easily.” Hunk said.

“This prince just knows when to give in.” Lance said, starting to walk back to Altea Records.

The two were silent as they walked back – or fly in Hunk’s case – both lost in their own thoughts but it all linked back to the same thing. Lance wanted to find an answer for this problem, but it didn’t look like there was one in sight. Hunk wanted to offer some solution, some string of advice that he always seemed to be filled with, but it was like the well had tried up. There was nothing he could offer. By the time they reached the front of Altea Records, Lance felt like he couldn’t go inside. Allura, Kolivan, the whole team and even The Rebels were all trying, and all Lance felt like doing was giving up. Instead of walking into Altea, Lance turned and crossed the street. Not that far from Altea were warehouses and Lance walked slowly between the rows of them before he stopped at the edge of one of the canals that would lead to a marina. He looked up at the stars that shone in the sky, the moon bright and shinning.

“I’m sorry Akira. It looks like it’ll take me a while longer to find you. I wish I could get my voice to you but there’s nothing I can do.” Lance whispered to the moon, his hands fisting the ends of his shirt in frustration. “I don’t know what to do. I promised that I would do all I can before I die but I don’t know if I can do anything to fix this.” Lance’s phone buzzed, pulling him from his musings. It was a text from Toph. “Toph, right she was that Puigan high school student I met during my first photo shoot. ‘I’m so excited for the concert. Me and the girls have been emptying our closets to try and find outfits. Ruby’s dad got us all VIP tickets, so we can’t to see you again’.” Lance let out a pained sigh and typed his reply and sent it.

“Lance….” Hunk started, starting to see the white haired Altean’s eyes brim with tears. Even if Lance was pretending to be a 19 almost 20 year old, Lance was still the almost 17 year old who had gotten the short end of the stick to many times in his life.

A new text stopped Hunk as Lance opened it and read it out loud. “’That’s such a shame the venue was cancelled. I thought the star painted celling of Atlas theatre would have been perfect. Sunny said she didn’t care where it was. She said it would have been perfect to see the stars as you sang, even if it was outside.’ Outside?” Lance looked back up. Akira had loved the moon and stars. He said that when Lance sang, he was as bright as the moon. When they’d talk about how Lance would eventually move to Japan with his grandmother, Akira told him that they wouldn’t be far from each other because they knew they’d both be watching the same moon every night. “Hunk?”

“Hmm?”

“You were right. I gave up too easily. Akira used to tell me that even if we’re separated, we’d still be close because of the moon above us. Why can’t the same be true now? Why can’t the concert happen here?”

“Here, like what? You perform on a boat and the crowd is on the ground here?” Hunk asked for clarification.

“Why not?”

“Um, well is that even allowed? Like, don’t this warehouses like belong to people? Wouldn’t they complain about a large crowd being…” Hunk trailed off, spotting something over Lance’s shoulder. Taking Lance by his shoulders and turning him around he asked, “Lance, isn’t that the Altea Records sign?”

Lance looked up at the Altean symbol for music with the words Altea Records right under it, like a beacon of light in the darkness of the stress filled day.

“Can you fly and see just how many of those signs you can spot on the warehouses?” Lance asked.

“On it.” Hunk said, flying off , leaving Lance grinning. He might actually have a chance to do this. “Lance! I think we’re in luck. This whole row has Altea Records signs on them.” Hunk said flying down to him.

“That’s all I need to hear.” Lance said, calling Allura. “Allura, I need you to listen to me. The warehouses that aren’t far from Altea, does Altea Records own any of them?”

_“Um, I think so, why?”_

“Is it at all possible to have a performance on a boat and have a crowd in the area of the Altea Records?”

_“Just so I’m understanding, the crowd would be on the ground and you’d be on a boat with a large deck for you to perform on?”_

“If it’s possible.”

_“Hold on. Kolivan!”_

When his producer was put on the phone, Lance explained his idea. It was silent over the line before Kolivan spoke.

_“Have you ever heard the a screamo band called Druids?”_

“Not my type of music, but yeah I have. Why?”

_“Because they had a performance just like this and people would not expect a pop singer to do that. You are a freaking genius. Your opening with The Rebels is gonna have to change a bit because silks aren’t going to work on a boat. I need your ass back here, so you can let everyone know where the concert is happening now. Nice work kid.”_

“Thank you, I’ll be right over.” Lance hung up and shared high five with Hunk.

“Told you you could pull through this.”

“I need to stop not believing you.” Lance said, turning to head back to Altea Records.

* * *

 

“Hey everyone, it’s your prince, Isamu, Prince of Altea. So, if you had seen my tweet, our original location of Atlas Theatre for the ‘Stars of the Forgotten Prince’ concert unfortunately fell through. But not to worry because your prince doesn’t break a promise. We’ve found a new and hopefully what you think interesting location for the concert. At the Crown Wearhouse District, Altea Records owns an entire row of warehouses, where with the help of 3D projections and regular projections will give you the chance to see me. For those of you who got VIP tickets and are coming to the per-concert party, I really hope you guys aren’t seasick. That’s all this prince will say, so I’ll see you all on July 28!”

* * *

 

Early on July 28, trucks pulled in to get everything set up for the Stars of the Forgotten Prince concert. Lance was waiting under deck of the yacht the VIP party was going to be, waiting to be called for sound check for the boat stage and so he and The Rebels could practise grappling down from a ship that Rolo apparently actually owned. Somehow Lance felt safer doing that then the silks.

“Lance, can you come above deck please?” Allura called from outside.

Lance put his phone down, not seeing the shared smirks Hunk and Pidge had on their face. Once his head popped up from the entryway, he was surprised but the sounds of poppers and confetti thrown at him.

“Happy birthday!” most of the crew both the behinds the scenes and set up, Kolivan and his team, Allura, Shiro, The Rebels and Keith started applauding as Lance continued up until he was on deck, shaking the confetti from his long hair.

“Thank you, though I don’t think all that confetti was necessary.” He said, shaking his hair out until he was sure he got everything.

“On Altea, royalty would get large parades on their birthdays.” Allura reminded.

“They also got fancy balls but here I am performing for everyone else. But seriously thank you.”

“But they get sung to no matter what. 1, 2, 3!” Matt counted off.

**_Happy birthday to you_ **

**_Happy birthday to you_ **

**_Happy birthday to his royal highness, Prince Isamu_ **

(Lance got a laugh out of that one)

**_Happy birthday to you!_ **

Everyone cheered as Nyma stepped forward to give Lance his first gift and pulled him into a hug, which led others to come do the same. Lance kept repeating the same words, but inside he was bubbling. Since he moved from the States, his birthday hadn’t been celebrated in such a big way. He’d get a big dinner and cake with his grandmother and Coran, Shiro stopping by if he could get the day off but he’d miss the large group gatherings and loudness that came with celebrating a birthday. While it wasn’t the same people, these people were still like his family and he wouldn’t want to celebrate it with anyone else.

Allura had been able to pull him away long enough so Shiro could hand over his gift. Shiro had been staying at the end of the crowd so people wouldn’t question why Shiro, the former keyboard player for The Paladins was at Isamu, Prince of Altea’s birthday celebration.

“Happy birthday Lance.” Shiro said, pulling Lance into a hug.

“Thank you. I’m surprised you were able to come.”

Shiro shrugged apologetically, “I was on my way to work and Allura said they were gonna do this, so I wanted to come. I also happened to talk to your grandmother. She said happy birthday.”

Lance gave him a small smile. “Thanks. You can tell her I said that.” It was going to be hard not having his grandmother and Coran but maybe things could be different the next year.

“Happy birthday.” Shiro said, handing Lance the gift bag he had been holding, wanting to take Lance’s mind off his grandmother.

“Thanks.” In the bag were two packages of the fairy lights with the clips for pictures that Shiro had mentioned. “Oh perfect, I actually know where I can hang these up now.”

“I think with Allura’s gift you might have more stuff to hang up anyway.” Seeing Lance’s confused face, Shiro explained, “Allura got you a polaroid camera for you.”

“Really? Oh my gosh, yes. Thank you! Hang on, you collaborated with Allura to get me gifts?”

Now it was Shiro’s turn to look confused. “Yes, why?”

“I thought you didn’t like her. I mean, you tend to brush her off sometimes and most of time you call her ‘your manager’, not Allura.”

Shiro looked ashamed of himself as he rubbed the back of her head. “Iit’s not that I’m trying to be rude to her, it’s just the way she looks at me, like she’s a huge fangirl. It makes me a bit uncomfortable.”

“You could always ask her to stop.” Lance pointed out.

“Yes, but-”

Shiro was interrupted by Allura coming over with the box for a blue polaroid camera in her hands. “I’m sure Shiro already told you, so I wanted to give it to you now, so you can use it now. I’ve bought you a ton of extra film. Just remind me to give you the rest that you don’t use.”

“I will, thank you so much.” Lance thanked.

“I have to head to work now. I’ll make sure to catch you perform tonight ok?” Shiro said, finding a way to end his conversation with Lance and disappear. Lance wanted to stop him, but he’d have the chance to get answers when it would just be him and Shiro.

“Come on, Keith has to leave soon.” Allura said, pulling him away from staring at Shiro’s disappearing back and over to the Galran singer, who pulled Lance into a tight hug.

“Happy birthday.” Keith said, slightly picking Lance up in their hug before letting him go.

“Thanks. Not that I’m not happy you’re here, because I am, but aren’t you going to get in trouble with Empire for being here?” Lance asked.

Keith shrugged, “we’re in meetings for my mini album and my fans know that a mini album is being talked about, so they can’t do anything.”

“You’re going to get in so much trouble.” Lance said, pulling Keith into another hug, still happy that Keith was risking trouble, so he could be there.

“Worth it. Here, a present that’s hopefully fit for a prince.” Keith said, pulling a small jewellery box from his jacket pocket.

“Thank you.” Lance opened the box to reveal a necklace. The pendant was a bow made of blue stars. “Oh wow, Keith.”

“Do you like it?”

“Like it? Keith, I love it! It looks like the one I used in the photoshoots.” Lance said as he pulled the necklace from the box. “Put it on me.” Lance had to put his other presents down, so he could gather his hair out of the way. He felt the cold chain and pendant on his skin as Keith did as he was instructed and clipped the necklace around Lance’s neck.

“I’m glad you like it. I remembered how much you liked the bows and I thought it would be a good idea.” Keith said, seeming very happy with Lance’s reaction.

“It’s perfect. Keith, really this is amazing.” Lance said, fingering the pendant.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it to the concert because of meetings but I’ll try my very best.” Keith promised.

“Red!” Thace, standing on dock, tapped his wrist when both singers looked over at him.

“And I have to go back to solitary already.” Keith complained.

“It’s ok. Thank you for coming now.” Lance thanked, pulling Keith into another hug. “Ohh, wait. You and I can take my first polaroid together.” Lance said, picking up the box and opening it to pull out the light blue polaroid. He quickly put the film in and hit the shutter to send out the first protection film. Holding the camera up, he stood in front of Keith, letting the Galran singer step closer to him and rest his chin on his shoulder. “Ready?” with Keith’s answering hum, Lance hit the shutter button and waited until the film started popping out to pull away, so he could catch it. A few shakes got the picture to start appearing.

“It looks good. We’ll have to take another for me to keep when we’re next free.” Keith said, smiling at Lance, who nodded in agreement.

“Red!” Thace called impatiently.

“I better get going. Happy birthday Lance.” Keith said, pressing a kiss to Lance’s cheek before slipping through the crowd to get to his manager, leaving Lance smiling and red.

“Oh, I saw that.” Allura said, slipping up next to Lance.

“Shut up. It’s not like that.”

“Uh huh. Come on, we still have set up to do and VIP people are going to be here before you know it. We need to at least get started with your hair.”

“Yes ma’am.” With that, the gathering was broken up as people went back to their jobs and Lance went back under deck, so his hair stylist had to start styling his hair and the makeup artist could start painting his nails with the design of the Leo constellation.

He had to move to another area to let the VIP people come onto the boat, so he could appear and join the party. When he did join however, the crowd of fans all counted down and burst into a loud rendition of happy birthday, making him burst into giggles all over again. He knew that because of Allura videoing the first rendition of happy birthday that everyone knew it was his birthday, but he was surprised how quickly everyone had been able to work together, if the many small gifts and small cakes he got from his fans said anything.

* * *

 

Before he knew it, Lance was dressed in his outfit that matched The Rebels’, climbing into Rolo’s ship. He knew that the crowd of people were probably confused that the concert was happening at the warehouse district, but Lance was excited to get started.

“Everyone in their harness?” the pilot asked.

Rolo pulled at everyone’s harness to make sure they were all safe to start attaching the ropes as they got closer.

“We’re all good. Let’s go.”

“Alright. Kolivan, we’re starting take off. Have the boat start going and you can get ready to start the concert.”

As they took off, Rolo made sure that the ropes were attached correctly and started threading the ropes though the other’s harnesses before working on his own. Lance glanced out the window on the door to see they were almost right above where their stage would be.

“Stage is in position. We’re right above.” The pilot said.

It must have also been a signal to Kolivan because they then heard the MC announce the start of the ‘Stars of the Forgotten Prince’ concert.

Rolo hit the button to open the side door to the ship and Beezer jumped out, it’s jetpack bringing it safely down to the stage, which lit up when Beezer landed on the stage and started the music for _Higher._ Rolo nodded to Nyma and she backed out of the ship, starting to descend onto the stage as she started singing.

 

**Oh, when I'm feeling doubts**  
**I know I can count on my best friends**  
 **Yeah, the word is out**  
 **United, our friendship rocks**  


Matt jumped out the ship next

  
_I'll be out, standing side by side_  
_Hear that sound, hear that sound_  
 _Let the whole world know that we're back in town_  
 _Spread the word around_  
 _We've come back in town_

Rolo and Lance jumped out next, Nyma waiting until they were safely on the stage before singing again

**Let the music take you higher**

This prompted the group to get out of their harness, to reveal their colour coded outfits of crew neck long sleeved shirts, shoulder protectors and black pants, their headsets having a band around the head to hold their coloured cat ears. Once they were all clear and the lines and attached harnesses started being lifted up back into the ship, the whole group started singing.  
  
_**Raise your hands, you can touch the sky**_  
 _ **Reach the stars, we can make you fly**_  
 _ **Call the girls, fun is in the air**_  
 _ **SOS, we'll be always there**_  
  
_**Raise your hands, you can touch the sky**_  
 _ **Rock your world in a fantasy**_  
 _ **Let the music take you**_  
  
Higher  
Higher

The Rebels stood behind Lance as he started to sing

  
_**One, two, three**  
 **Yeah, we're stepping out**  
 **Hear that sound, hear that sound**  
 **Let the whole world know**  
 **Say it loud and proud**  
 **That we're back in town**  
 **Spread the word around**  
_  
_I'll be out, standing side by side_  
_Hear that sound_  
 _Can you hear that sound?_  
Let the whole world know that we're back in town  
Spread the word around  
We've come back in town

  
**_Let the music take you higher  
_**  
**_Raise your hands, you can touch the sky_**  
 ** _Reach the stars, we can make you fly_**  
 ** _Call the girls, fun is in the air_**  
 ** _SOS, we'll be always there_**  
  
**_Raise your hands, you can touch the sky_**  
 ** _Rock your world in a fantasy_**  
 ** _Spread your wings, we will set you free_**  
 ** _Call the girls, fun is in the air_**  
 **** _Let the music take you_

“Welcome everyone, to ‘Stars of the Forgotten Prince’! We are The Rebels and we would like that thank the star of this show, Isamu, Prince of Altea for performing the opening number with us!” Rolo announced, the loud cheers of the crowd echoing in the night.

“Doesn’t he look amazing in his Rebel outfit?” Matt asked the audience as Lance struck a few poses. “So, dude, solo career never works out, hit us up. They loved us. Now while our lovely prince heads below deck to get changed, we want to sing for you again and I think you guys are gonna know this one. But first things first, how is everyone tonight?” the crowd of people cheered. “Oh no, Nyma did you hear that?”

“Sounded a bit like faint buzzing because I know these guys can do better than that.” Nyma said, taking the staff she was handed by a stage hand.

“Thank you, and I completely agree. So, let’s try one more time, how is everyone tonight?”

This time the screams were much louder.

“That’s better.” Rolo said, resting his staff across his shoulders. “How’d you like our entrance by the way?” the cheers gave him his answer, “glad you liked it. Had we still been performing at Atlas Theatre, that would have been done on silks, which strangely Isamu felt more scared doing than grappling out of a ship. I know this a pretty strange way of doing a concert, though the Druids did it, if you know anything about screamo music, so please stay comfy and safe and let’s start a revolution, right Beezer?” Rolo asked as Beezer started the music for _Music Revolution._

**Wake up** _(starry)_  
**Get up** (ready)  
**Move up  
To the music revolution, baby**  
  
**Warm up** (ah)  
**Stand up** _(yeah)  
_**Reach out  
For the music revolution, baby**  
  
_Everybody knows it  
Everybody shows it  
Everybody  
Move your feet on the dance floor_  
  
_Watch out_ (starry)  
_Look cool_ **(ready)**  
_Hey, now  
Let's start a revolution_  
  
**_We are energetic  
We are charismatic  
Party on the planet  
Dance to the revolution  
  
Don't be automatic  
Just be supersonic  
Let go, never panic  
Dance to the revolution  
  
Stand up, you can follow  
Wake up, sing and holler  
Loving one another  
Dance to the revolution  
  
You'll be energetic  
You'll be charismatic  
Party on the planet  
Dance to the revolution  
_**  
Chill out **(steady)**  
Work out _(ready)_  
Watch us  
Do the music revolution, baby  
  
Hands up _(ready)_  
Way up **(say it)**  
Start up  
To the music revolution, baby  
  
**Everybody knows it  
Everybody shows it  
Everybody  
Move your feet on the dance floor**  
  
Dress up starry (starry)  
_Diamonds shining (shining)_  
**Star girls party**  
Start a revolution  
  
_**We are energetic**_  
_**We are charismatic**_  
_**Party on the planet**_  
_**Dance to the revolution**_  
  
_**Don't be automatic**_  
_**Just be supersonic**_  
_**Let go, never panic**_  
_**Dance to the revolution**_  
  
_**Stand up, you can follow**_  
_**Wake up, sing and holler**_  
_**Loving one another**_  
_**Dance to the revolution**_  
  
_**You'll be energetic**_  
_**You'll be charismatic**_  
_**Party on the planet**_  
_**Dance, dance, dance, dance**_  
  
_**You'll be energetic**_  
_**You'll be charismatic**_  
__**Party on the planet**  
****Dance to the revolution

“And now, please put your hands together for the prince who rules your hearts, Isamu, Prince of Altea!” the lights on stage went out as The Rebels exited the stage to go below deck, passing Lance, who was changed in his new outfit of black pants with cut outs on the side that had been filled with blue fabric, a grey high collar tank, a blue hooded vest lined with white and the mark of the Blue Paladin and both blue and black arm warmers.

“Hello everyone!” Lance greeted the crowd as they cheered back at him. “Thank you for coming to ‘Stars of the Forgotten Prince’! When I was told I had the chance to do this concert, I wanted it to be perfect but thanks to a few good friends who listened to me when Atlas Theatre fell through, I was reminded that I just needed a stage and all of you here. So, thank you for coming. I don’t think I could thank you enough, so for now, please listen to my song. This is _Myself.”_

“Ready Hunk?” Pidge asked as they floated above the stage to watch Lance perform.

“Ready.” With a spin of his finger and a snap, the jewels of Keith’s gift to Lance started to glow brightly, surprising Lance. With the pendant in hand, he looked up and gave a wave to his two biggest fans.

**_Doushite suki nan darou  
Konna ni namida afureteru_ **

  
**_Ano koro ha ushinau_**  
**_mono ga oosukite_**  
**_nani mo utaenakatta_**  
**_Sukoshi hanareta basho_**  
**_soko ga watashi no_**  
**_ibasho datta_**  
  
**_Kimi no hitomi no oku ni ano hi_**  
**_samishisa wo mitsuketa_**  
**_Futari niteru no kana?_**  
**_Kitsukeba itsu mo tonari ni ite kureta_**

  
**_Doushite konna ni suki nan darou_**  
**_Kimi no koe kanshii hodo hibiiteru yo_**  
**_Ima made nani ga sasae datta ka_**  
**_Tooku hanarete wakatta yo_**  
  
**_Nakinagara sagashi tsuduketa_**  
**_maigo no kodomo no you ni_**  
**_Kedo soko ni ha eien nante aru wake nakute_**  
  
**_dare mo shinjinakereba iin da yo_**  
**_tsubuyaita ne_**  
**_Futari niteru no kana?_**  
**_Ano toki kimi wo mamoru to kimeta no ni_**  
  
**_Doushite konna ni suki nandarou_**  
**_Toosugite chikasugite todokanai yo_**  
**_wasureyoutte omoeba omou hodo_**  
**_Kimi ga ookiku natteku yo_**  
  
**_Doushite konna ni suki nan darou_**  
**_Kimi no koe kanshii hodo hibiiteru yo_**  
**_Ima made nani ga sasae datta ka_**  
**_Tooku hanarete wakatta yo_**  
  
**_Doushite konna ni suki nan darou_**  
**_Kantan sugite kotae ni naranai_**

Keith sat up in the booth area with Kolivan, Allura and the other technicians. He had gotten out of his meetings and probably broke a few laws in order to get here in time to see Lance grappling from the ship. His heart had stilled, not beating again until Lance was safely on the stage, singing and dancing like he hadn’t just jumped off a ship.

“Keith, don’t you do all your own stunts in your videos?” Allura asked, when she noticed Keith had started breathing again.

“Yeah?”

“I’ve seen you jump from high stories and moving objects. How does this make you nervous?”

Why did see Lance doing that make Lance nervous? Minus the cold that had him away from the music world after the whole shampoo commercial incident, Lance was a healthy person. Lance had proved he could take care of himself.

_“I spent the day with Lance. After we talked, I offered to help him move into his new apartment and we hung out. I know I haven’t seen him for almost a week because of what happened, but I missed hanging out with him, just talking to him.” Keith looked over at Ulaz, who had this look on his face. “What?”_

_“Nothing. Just remembering when I would talk to Antok about Thace like that.”_

Keith remembered what Ulaz said about how he talked about Lance. Did he actually have feeling for Lance? He never really had time to get crushes but then again, he never tried to get really close to people like he did with Lance. Seeing him happy with the present he’d gotten him, the fact that he was wearing it on stage now, it was doing things to Keith.

“Shit.”

“What’s wrong?” Allura asked.

“Nothing.” He said. Nothing except for the fact that he had a raging crush on Lance.

“Do you guys want to know something? That song was my first time writing a song and I had only 3 days to write it. I had a lot of all nighters to do this and now look what I ended up with, a song that’s touched everyone’s hearts.” The crowd cheered at Lance’s admition. “I’m so glad you guys loved it. Though, Kolivan, my producer had a different song picked, when he read the lyrics he admitted defeat, so I guess the kinda scary part was over. I’ll be honest. You guys can be more terrifying that a 7 foot Galran man. The song he had picked for me had the weirdest name ever, Love Me Do Forever. Do had also been spelt wrong, because guess who can speak English and 2, almost 3, other languages fluently?” Lance asked the crowd pointing at himself.

“I know a lot of songs now a days are done in English but of course the default is Japanese, so I hope you’ll indulge me as I sing to you guys in 3. Spanish, English and Japanese. When I was told I could do covers I got really excited because there are so many good songs to choose from. So, just in case anyone was curious, I can speak Spanish because I’m half Cuban. Before everyone freaks out and tried to figure out my identity, you’ll be surprised with the percentage of Cuban immigrants there are in Japan now a days. So, I really hope you can enjoy this song as much as I enjoy this. It’s sung by a Mexican singer, but this song, ugg, this song is one of those songs you just have to belt the lyrics. This is _Responde_ by Diego Gonzales.”

**_Será que nuestra historia terminó?  
Si es así, entonces, ¿qué falló? _ **

  
**_Ya te di mi amor, y mi corazón_ **  
**_¿Qué más podría hacer yo?_ **

  
**_Responde, ¿me quieres?_ **  
**_Tú sabes que eres_ **

**_mi todo_**  
**_No huyas mas de mi amor_**

**_Yo sé que te ha cegado el temor_**  
**_Porque jamás te han dado tanto amor_**  
**_No hay más que decir, tienes que sentir_**  
**_Dime algo, por favor_**  
  
**_Responde, ¿me quieres?_**  
**_Tú sabes que eres mi todo_**  
**_No huyas mas de mi amor_**  
**_Responde, ¿me quieres?_**  
**_Tú sabes que eres mi todo_**  
**_No huyas mas de mi amor_**

**_Sé que hay una voz en ti_ **  
**_Diciendo que vendrás a mí, tienes que sentirla_ **  
**_Será que nuestra historia terminó..._ **

**_Responde, ¿me quieres?_ **  
**_Tú sabes que eres mi todo_ **  
**_No huyas mas de mi amor_ **  
**_Responde, ¿me quieres?_ **  
**_Tú sabes que eres mi todo_ **  
**_No huyas mas de mi amor_ **

As the cheers from Lance’s cover of the song faded, Lance started to hear a very familiar song.

“Let us wish our prince a very happy birthday as he gets to blow out the candles he didn’t get to do earlier.” The MC announced as two techs from below deck brought up a sheet cake with the picture that had been on the posters for advertising.

“Guys, I’ve been sung happy birthday to 3 times now.” Lance complained on his mic.

“Get used to it mister.” The MC stated before leading the whole crowd in another rendition of happy birthday.

Once it was over, Lance quickly blew the candles out and swiped a taste of the icing. “Mm, it tastes like cookies and cream, my favourite. Now, I’ve got about two songs left so let’s have some fun alright? I think you Red fans will like this cover of _Higher._ It’s one of my favourite so definitely sing along with me.”

* * *

 

Lance flopped onto his bed. He was so _tired_. And that had only been a solo concert. If Lance got the chance to do a full concert before passing away, he had no clue how he’d even survive that.

“Lance,” Pidge said poking Lance’s cheek, not bothered by the now 17 year old human weakly pushing the offending appendage away. “Come on, don’t fall asleep yet, we still have to give you your present.”

“Hmm, ‘morrow.” Lance said starting to drift off.

Pidge looked over at Hunk who pulled the fixed music box from behind his back and put it on the bedside table. The base was fixed back to its former white colour and the top was a covered dome, with glowing lights painting birds on the dome. Pidge pressed the heart shaped button and turned the box on. Lance slowly opened his eyes as the melody filled the room and he slowly blinked at the music box.

“Is that?”

“Happy birthday Lance.” Hunk said.

Pidge put a small Rover shaped object on top of the music box. As Lance stared more he realised it wasn’t Rover shaped, it was a smaller version of Rover.

“This little guy will let us know instantly if you’re in trouble. You can even tell it to call us if you need us. Happy birthday Lance.” Pidge explained. “I know it’s not part of our job description, but here’s to many more.”

“Thanks.” Lance said, staring at the music box, as the melody of the love song his father wrote for his mother took him to sleep.


	16. A new member of the Prince's court

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While it is still Monday in the US, it's Tuesday in London and I'm very tired. Please send comments as energy boosts please.

Lance carefully flipped his pancake over in the pan, smiling at the perfect golden brown side.

“Another raving review about the concert. ‘A show stopper from start to finish. The Prince’s language skills at top level. Perhaps we might hear more of his amazing Spanish or English accent with coming songs?’” Pidge read as she scrolled through Isamu’s twitter feed. “That’s a good question, you’re going to do _Eternal Snow,_ right? What language are you going to do it in?”

Lance looked over to where the music box sat on the breakfast bar playing cheerfully, printing different coloured birds on the dome. He was supposed to have Allura over for brunch, so they could discuss options for his next single. The contract with Kolivan ended once the solo concert had been wrapped up, but they needed to move quick if they had any chance for getting him as Isamu’s producer again. The only thing he could think of doing was Eternal Snow. Now that he had the music, it was all he could think about doing.

“I want to talk to Shiro and see what my dad did. I wonder if he has the lyrics for song.” Lance wondered out loud as he took the finished pancake and put it on the plate with the other finished pancakes.

“Don’t forget you left the bacon in the microwave.” Pidge reminded.

As Lance did just that, someone knocked on his front door. “Pidge, can you?”

“On it.” Pidge said, putting Lance’s phone down and phasing through the door to make sure it was Allura. She enjoyed the surprised look on Allura’s face when the door swung open. She turned into her plush form to startle her. “Morning.”

“You scared me.” Allura said, closing the door.

“I know. Nice hicky by the way.” Pidge said, her eyes focused on the bruise on Allura’s neck. She watched Allura hide it with her hair, a bit surprised with the glare she got as Allura moved to the kitchen.

“Morning. What did you want to drink?” Lance asked putting the plates on the breakfast bar and moving back to the fridge.

“Whatever juice you have is fine. So, have you given any thought as to what you want to do for your next song?” Allura asked, serving herself as she sat down.

“Yeah actually. I have.” Lance pressed the jewelled button on the music box starting it up again. He was not expecting Allura to let out a startled scream though. “What, what’s wrong?”

“That’s _Eternal Snow_! By the Paladins!”

“You know them?”

“Do I know them? Lance, your godfather was the keyboard player for them.”

“Yeah I know. And my dad was-”

Allura cut him off, “Seb McClain! Oh, how could I not of noticed? Lance, the Paladins were huge, they had so many concert only songs, people would pay for any recording of the song they could get. Oh, whenever they were in town, I’d beg my manager to let me go see them. I actually got to meet them at an event and got a picture with them. Have you seen pictures with your godfather with his long hair?”

“Uh, a few.” Lance answered looking slightly uncomfortable.

Allura sighed, “he looked good.”

“Ok, not at all creepy. Anyway, do you think doing a cover of it would be ok?” Lance asked.

“Of course. I can’t think of anyone else who’d think of doing this, so I think it’s a great idea. How are you going to get the lyrics though? It was a concert only song.”

“I was going to ask Shiro if he happened to have the lyrics or if he remembered them.”

“I could try remembering them. It would take a while though.”

Lance looked over to the music box playing. “don’t worry, I have a lot of memory nudges.”

* * *

 

“Why are we here? You saw me this morning and I have work to do.” Allura said as Hira lead her to a place at a bar.

“Aren’t I allowed to want to be with you?” Hira asked.

“If we were dating except your married.” Allura said.

“You seem so upset to be around with me recently.” Hira said, running small circles with her finger onto Allura’s hand. “I’ve barely gotten the chance to see you since the solo concert.”

“And now I have Isamu’s new single to worry about. I should be at home helping him with lyrics.” Allura said.

“Oh?”

“He wants to do a cover of a Paladin song.”

“The Paladins?” Hira asked, sounding annoyed.

“That’s right, you don’t like the Paladins because they were always popular then you and their guitar player, Seb, never gave you the time of day, right?” Allura said, almost teasingly. She might not have been in the idol game for long, but she was there long enough to see how Hira would try and be above the Paladins but would always lose. She did jump when Hira slammed her hand on the counter. “Someone can’t take a joke.”

Hira took a few deep breaths before speaking again. “Has he told you what song he wants to do? I might be able to call up a few connections who are…fans.”

“ _Eternal Snow_. He happened to find a music box that has the same melody so that’s why I want to go home so I can write the lyrics down, so I don’t forget them again.” Allura said, picking her handbag up again.

“Oh, come on, he can wait a day or two.” Hira said, trying to get her to pay attention again.

“Kolivan won’t if we want to get him again. I’m sorry, but I have to go. Try not to pout all night and maybe go back to that husband of yours.”

“He isn’t here.”

“That explains why I’m here. Goodbye Hira.”

As Allura left the bar, she didn’t notice a figure with white hair standing behind a nearby wall.

“Paladin’s _Eternal Snow_ huh?” Lotor said. “guess I have every reason to agree to Keith’s want to do a cover song. In fact, I should let him know right now.” Lotor pulled his phone out and dialled Keith’s number. As usual, it was left ringing for a long time, Keith always wanting to avoid a call from him.

_“What?”_

“Is that anyway to talk to your producer?” Lotor snapped at the rude tone.

_“No, it’s how I talk to daddy’s boys. What do you want Lotor? I’ve dealt with you enough today.”_

“I just thought I’d let you know that I was doing some thinking today and decided that maybe you should do a cover song.”

_“Wait, really?”_

“You’ve been doing this long enough and I did some research and no other singer seems to have any plans on doing covers. You’re free to have it added to your mini album.” Lotor explained.

_“Your serious? Like actually serious?”_

“Yes. I’ll see you tomorrow, so we can actually discuss what song you want.”

_“I can save us both the grief of me having to see you. I wanted to do Eternal Snow by the Paladins.”_

“Oh really. Well I’ll see if I can’t find the lyrics for you. Come see me tomorrow.” With the Lotor hung up, the sinister smile on his face. “this time, you’ll break the little prince for sure. Now I’m sure Kolivan is bored without a client.”

* * *

 

“So, we’re supposed to meet with Kolivan today to give him the proposal, right?” Hunk asked from his place in Lance’s bag. Because Lance was just going to Allura’s apartment, he decided to wait on being Isamu for a little while.

“Mhm,” Lance answered, half distracted with texting Keith. Apparently, he was approved of all his ideas for his mini album and once the proposal was accepted, they’d be moving forward with everything. Lance was excited for him. If they could release near the same time, Lance was looking forward to battling Keith for top place at the music boards. “I just hope Allura wasn’t forcing herself. I didn’t ask Shiro for the lyrics yet because he had been working the whole night before.”

“Kinda wish this elevator moved a bit faster so we could find out.” Pidge said.

They finally reached the right floor and Lance pulled out the spare key he still had from when he stayed with Allura and opened the door.

“Allura,” Lance called as he took his shoes off and slipped on the pair of lion slippers that Allura had for guests, “are you awake?”

He heard something come from Allura’s bedroom and followed the noise, jumping when the door to Allura’s room swung open.

“Here I am.” A tired voice said from the figure standing in the door way. Though it was more of leaning or propping herself up.

“Oh, Allura you didn’t.”

“I got no sleep last night but! I remembered the lyrics and came up with the proposal plan for _Eternal Snow_. Go start the coffee machine in the kitchen and hold onto this, while I take a shower.” Allura tiredly ordered as she shoved the stapled stack of papers at him and stumbled off to the bathroom.

“Is that really your manager?” Pidge asked, staring at the seemingly unprofessional woman stumble away.

“I ask myself that sometimes.” Lance said as he went to the kitchen, finding one of Allura’s favourite coffee pods and putting it into the machine, hitting the one button after making sure there was a cup under the spout. “but hopefully the late nightery will pay off.” Lance said, pulling his phone out again to text Keith again but saw there was a message waiting for him

** I’m the happiest person in the world! Lotor said he’s too busy to work with me so he’s got another producer lined up for me to work with. We’re about the head over there **

_ I’m happy for you. Now you cannot get into trouble with him _

** Yeah, especially since I’ve worked with him before **

** We’re here so I’ll text you later **

_ K, have fun _

“Looks like Keith is getting started with his stuff. I hope Allura doesn’t take long. The sooner we can meet with Kolivan, the better.” Lance said.

Thankfully they didn’t wait for a very long for Allura to get ready. Lance watched in fascination as Allura downed the coffee very quickly before putting the mug in the sink and dragging Lance out the door. When they arrived at Kolivan’s office, his secretary telling them he was in a meeting, so they waited in his office.

“I have a good feeling that if he accepts, that we can hit the ground running on this. He might even have knowledge of the lyrics.” Allura said pulling her side ponytail away from her shoulder so she could twist in order to keep it controlled.

“I really hope he says.” Lance said as the door opened and Kolivan walked in.

“Sorry I made you wait. I was in a meeting. So, what can I do for you?” Kolivan asked, sitting at his desk, giving his full attention.

“We were hoping that you could be Isamu’s producer again. He’s already decided that he’s wanted to do a cover of a song called _Eternal Snow_ by the Paladins. Here’s the proposal plan we have.” Allura said, getting right into it.

“ _Eternal Snow_?” Kolivan asked, Allura nodding as she waited for Kolivan to take the proposal. “I’m sorry, I can’t do that.”

“What? Why not?” Allura asked.

“I was just contracted by a singer who wants to do that exact song.” Kolivan explained. “I only work with one singer at a time, so my focus can be completely on them and that meeting was us signing the contract.”

“But? What? I checked, no one else wanted to do this. Who’s this singer? It’s Ezor isn’t it? Her and her friends have been trying to make things hard for Isamu.”

“It’s Red actually. According to him, he’s producer was too busy to work with him on his new mini album, so he organized it, so I could be contracted to work with him. And _Eternal Snow_ is planned to be on his mini album.”

“Red? Like, my Red?” Lance asked.

“Sure, _your_ Red. He and Thace are leaving now if you want to catch up with him.”

“I’ll be right back.” Lance said, heading out the office. He wasn’t about to attack Keith for choosing _Eternal Snow_. He knew Keith, the song had to mean something to him since it was a concert only song. He was curious, and he also wondered if Keith had been put in this position or if this was just a coincidence. He didn’t want another shampoo commercial incident. He was in huge luck, he had found Keith and Thace talking to a member of Kolivan’s team. “Red!”

Keith looked over his shoulder, seeming surprised to see Lance. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

“Allura and I came to try and get Kolivan to my producer again, but it looks like you beat me.” Lance said. Lance felt like he should be annoyed but he wasn’t really.

“Yeah. Lotor was too busy to work with me so he contracted Kolivan. I’ve worked with Kolivan before, so I was really happy.”

“And less chance of getting in trouble with you not having a reason to punch Lotor.” Lance pointed out.

“Well, no immediate reason.” Keith said. “Who are you going to get to do your song now?”

“Well, seeing how I wanted to do a cover of a song called _Eternal Snow_ , anyone who thinks they can go up against Kolivan.” Lance said, looking for a reaction that he got immediately.

“ _Eternal Snow_? Like the one by the Paladins?” Lance nodded. “But Lotor said…Lotor.” Lance watched Keith clench his hands. “I think I found my new reason to punch him.”

Taking hold of Keith’s fist, Lance said, “let’s not give him a reason to get you in trouble again. Allura told me that no one had any plans for a cover and I’m guessing Lotor said the same thing. We can take it as either Allura didn’t do her full research or somehow Lotor found out.”

“He had rejected the idea in incisal meetings and then right before he tells me he can’t work with me, he agrees to the cover.” Keith explained, seeming frustrated. “I’m gonna kill him but first I need to talk to Kolivan.”

“What for?”

“So, I can pull the song. I mean, you wanted to do it right?”

“What? No, Keith, no. that’s not what I want you to do.” That was the farthest thing from Lance’s mind. He didn’t want Keith to change his mind about his song choices just because Lance wanted to do them. “I’m sure we’re taking different approaches on the song. It’s a cover so no one is gonna care that the lyrics are the same.”

“Are you sure?” Keith asked.

“Keith, I’m not going to make you change your line up. Think of it like this, it’ll be a battle to see who has a better cover.” Lance said.

“I guess.” Keith shrugged. “if you’re sure. Who are you gonna get to do the single though? You do remember that Kolivan is one of the best in the business?”

“I’m sure it won’t be that hard to find someone.” Lance said.

Famous last words. Keith had every right to be worried about Lance finding a producer. ‘I’m not going against Kolivan’ was the response they got the most. A few were too busy, others didn’t want to do it. It was even terrifying that when Allura called producers from the other side of the country or the galaxy that they didn’t want to try and go against Kolivan.

“There is no way this guy is this good.” Allura complained as she and Lance had finished their search mission for the day.

“Apparently, there are a huge number of people who disagree with you.” Lance pointed out.

“Keith seemed like he would totally drop the song from his album.” Pidge mentioned.

“I wasn’t going to let Keith take it off is album. Technically he got to the song first and we’re doing covers, so it doesn’t matter that we’re doing the same song.” Lance said, not backing down from what he told Keith

“I’m glad you don’t find an issue with it, it’s just that if we can find a producer for this, you two are going to be all over the news. People doing the same songs doesn’t happen anymore.” Allura said. Allura started pulling up in front of Lance’s building when they noticed a red and white bike that Lance immediately recognised.

“Is that Keith?” Keith was leaning against his bike, his black face mask hiding his Galran face, a baseball hat covering most of his duel coloured hair. “I wonder what he’s doing here.”

“I wonder if he’s gonna try and pull _Eternal Snow_ out again.” Pidge said.

“He’d better not. Did you want to come up?” Lance asked Allura, who shook her head.

“If you trust him then I know he’ll be ok. I need to go and try look for a producer. Have fun.”

Lance climbed out of the car and approach Keith, who got up from his bike as he saw Lance approach.

“I really hope that you’re here to hang out and not to try and convince me to let you drop the song from your album.”

Keith looked caught. It was funny how easily Lance could read Keith now. “Lance, look you-”

“No.”

“Lance-”

“Nope.”

“Will you-”

“Ah, ah, ah. Not a chance.”

“But-”

“Ah.”

“Lance!” Keith said sounding frustrated with how much Lance was interrupting him.

“I lived in a foster home with many kids. Keith, I can do this all day. I don’t care if we both want to cover the same song, you’re not dropping it from your album. We’ll just have to deal with being the centre of attention and people trying to decide which version is better. Besides, I need to find a producer first, who isn’t scared shitless of Kolivan.” Seeing Keith about to open his mouth again, Lance interrupted him, “if you even think about suggesting you leave Kolivan so I can get him, I will hurt you.” He threatened, smirking as Keith closed his mouth, looking put out.

“I feel like this is another shampoo commercial event again.” Keith said.

“The only thing that’s remotely the same is similar lyrics in terms and Lotor forcing his will upon you. Keith, I’m not mad at you. You obviously want to do this song for a reason and that’s all that matters.” Lance said. “promise me you won’t try to pull the song just to please me because I can promise you, I’ll be pissed off.”

“Fine. I won’t pull it. Can we head up?” Keith said, giving in.

“Come on. I found my favourite ramen house delivers to my area. I’ve been craving udon.” Lance said, gesturing to the building.

Lance left Keith in his room while he ordered their food, leaving his wallet on the counter so it would be near when it got delivered. He found Keith holding the fixed music box in his hand.

“Your friend fixed it?” Keith asked as Lance walked back into the room and dropped on the bed next to Keith

“Yep. Press the button.” Lance said, wanting to see Keith’s reaction.

Holding the box as carefully as he could, Keith pressed the button and watched the lights start to print the silhouettes of birds on the dome as the music started. Lance watched as the purple eyes widened and his ears perked up like he was a cat.

“Is this?” Keith started, looking over at Lance, who nodded. Keith looked back down at the music box. “How?”

Lance shrugged. He couldn’t exactly tell Keith that his dad was a member of the Paladins. He had taken the wedding picture of his parents from the bedside table to live under his pillow, so Keith never saw that. “I’m not sure but I know my dad gave this to my mom which means that the song was important to them. I wanted to sing it because of them.”

Keith stared down at the music box quietly before speaking. “My dad…he loved the Paladins. The few CDs he had from them he’d play in the house, so I grew up listening to them. He told me that he loved _Eternal Snow_ the most, he’d constantly hum the song. He told me he asked my mom to marry her when they first played the song at a concert. They were in the crowd and the song started and my dad knew he had to ask her just then.”

“So, you’re doing it for your parents?” Lance asked carefully. He hadn’t forgotten how Keith told him of how his relationship with his mother was.

“I’m still mad about my mother abandoning me. But…I’ve always wanted to do this cover and I’m finally getting the chance so I’m not going to let how I feel about my mother stop me.” Keith said

“And you shouldn’t let her. I’m doing this in memory of my parents, you’re doing it for your dad. That’s the only thing that should matter.” Lance said, pressing his shoulder against Keith’s.

“Yeah, but I’m scared about what my mom would say.” Keith said, putting the music box down as it stopped playing

“You shouldn’t be. She’s the one who as to explain herself, not you. You’re just covering a song you grew up with and meant a lot to your dad. If she wants to talk, she has to come to you.”

“I guess.” Keith said, looking like he wanted to stop talking about his mom.

“Any chance you wanna tell your biggest fan what other stuff you have planned for your album?” Lance asked.

“And why do you get priority?” Keith asked, smirking at Lance who gave him an innocent look on his face.

“Because you love me? Besides, you still have me a bit mad at you that you even tried coming here to get me to agree to you removing the song from the album, you have to get me to fully forgive you.”

“How is that even fair? I didn’t even know you were really mad at me.” Keith said.

“Of course, I was. Now tell me so I can forgive you.”

“Yah, I don’t treat you like royalty. Don’t act like you have to be treated like it.” Keith said, not actually angry.

“Oh, Korean. Is that your way of telling me you’re going to have a Korean track? You don’t do enough of those in my opinion.” Lance said, wiggling in his spot, trying to figure it out.

Keith shook his head at Lance. “One Korean track, one English track and at least 2 Japanese tracks including _Eternal Snow_.”

“Oh, you’re doing it Japanese, I was planning on doing my version in English.”

“Are you going to do it the same tempo as…” Keith asked, nodding to the music box. Lance nodded. “Cool. I want planning on my version being a faster tempo, so it’ll be two different versions.”

“Funny, that’s what I told you. Looks like this prince is right. Maybe you should always listen to me.”

Rolling his eyes, Keith grabbed one of the smaller pillows Lance had on his bed and wacked Lance in the head with it, continuing the assault as Lance squawked and tried pulling away from the attack. He was saved when the doorbell rang, and he left the room, shutting the barn door behind him, where he heard Keith throw the pillow at the door.

“Rude.” Lance called at him.

“Just go get the food!” Keith called back.

Lance decided to get Hunk to drop the Isamu look so he wouldn’t have to beg the delivery person to keep his address a secret. He had switched back after the door was closed again and he had the food in hand and knocked on his bedroom door.

“Come out, I don’t want to eat in my bed.” Lance called, setting the food out on the living room table.

“When do you think you can find a producer?” Keith asked as they waited for their noodles to soften in the broth.

“When we can find someone who’s not scared of Kolivan, which might be no one. I didn’t realise just how scary he could be to all the other producers.” Lance said, holding Pidge close, Hunk sitting next to him on the couch. Pidge was eyeing his food, so it was the only way to feed her with Keith still in the room.

“Maybe if the producer was a new guy.” Keith said.

“Except we’ve seemed to exhaust all options.” Lance said, opening his bowl and pulling a noddle out to see if it was soft enough.

“We have it planned for me to announce my mini album tomorrow, so it might be harder.” Keith said, seeming apologetic.

Lance sighed. It honestly looked like he was in trouble. “I think my luck might be running out.” Lance muttered, picking up his bowl.

“Why don’t you ask Allura if she’s heard of any new producers, like part timers or something. It would help if you had someone who knew the Paladins really well.” Keith said picking his own bowl of ramen up and stirring it.

Lance had been slurping noodles into his mouth but when he heard what Keith said, his mind went to a person. How could he have never thought of him? He was perfect! “Keith, you are a genius!” Lance put his bowl down and pressed a kiss to Keith’s cheek before shooting up from the couch and into his room, taking Pidge with him.

“You’re welcome.” Keith weakly said before groaning and putting his bowl of food on the table and hiding his face in his hands. “Do not self-combust Keith, just because you have massive crush on your best friend.”

It took everything in Hunk’s body not to burst into screams of happiness as he sat as stiffly as possible on the couch.

_“Yes Lance?”_ Allura answered once Lance was able to get through to her.

“Shiro, we can ask Shiro to be my producer! He knows the song and we can work a lot more comfortably because he knows who I am.”

_“That’s…actually brilliant. Lance, that’s a perfect idea. Do you know when he’s free?”_

“Uh, he’s in the middle of his shift right now so let’s go tomorrow morning. We can talk to him with a plan fresh in our mind.”

_“Good enough for me. I’ll meet you there ok?”_

“Yes ma’am.” Lance went back out, where Keith still had his face in his hands. “Keith, you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Keith said picking up his bowl again.

Lance picked his own up, raising an eyebrow at how most of his broth was missing. He looked over to where Pidge had been dropped on the table, getting a wink. _‘Guess I should be happy she didn’t try to eat it all.’_

* * *

 

**_Empire’s singer Red has announced a new mini album in the workers. Included a cover of a song from the famed Paladins?_ **

“Wow, Kolivan works fast.” Lance said as he opened the link Keith sent him as he waited in the lobby of the hospital Shiro worked in.

_“Are you really surprised? I guess he was worried about not being at the head of the game when you eventually announce your cover. You said your meeting a possible producer?”_

“Yep. My godfather was involved in music and he knows the Paladins really well. I just hope he says yes. He’s ok with me being a singer but I know that music can still hurt him.” Lance said, remembering when he found Shiro at his parent’s grave.

_“I’m sure that if he knows how much it means to you, he’ll do this one song.”_ Keith reassured.

“I hope. Maybe I should talk to him before Allura gets here.”

_“If you think it would be better.”_

“Lance!” Lance turned to see Shiro walking towards him, a bright smile on his face. “What are you doing here?”

_“Lance, is that him? Talk to him!”_

Lance knew he should, but he felt frozen.

“Lance?”

“I was just in the neighbourhood, so I’ll see you later, bye!” Lance said, running for the elevator.

_“Lance!”_ Keith yelled loud enough for Lance to yank his earbuds off in order to regain his hearing.

“Don’t yell at me. I just saw him, and I wanted to ask but I froze when I saw him.”

_“So I heard. Lance, you’re not going to be able to do Eternal Snow if your too scared to ask your best chance at a producer to_ be _your producer.”_

“I know. Maybe I should let Allura take care of this.” Lance said as the elevator opened to the lobby.

_“That sounds like a good idea. Please try not to panic again. If you can’t do this song, nothing you say is going to stop me from pulling the song. Bye!”_

“Keith! That idiot. I told him not to do that.” Lance said, dropping himself into a seat in the waiting room.

“Why do you think he hung up so fast?” Pidge asked, floating next to Lance. “I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m feeling less on the Team Akira side and more on the Team Keith side.”

“It’s not like that! I don’t feel that way for Keith and when Akira finally finds me, you’ll see that he loves me.” Lance said, glaring up at Pidge, who held her hands up in surrender.

“Sorry. I was just joking. Don’t bite my head off.” Pidge said, watching Lance look away from her, his gaze focused on his hands. She guessed that she had taken it too far.

“Lance.” Allura walked over, looking a bit tired but seeming to fully pumped. “Are you ready?”

“I guess. I wanted to talk to Shiro first but the minute I saw him, I froze up. I think you’ll have to do the talking.”

“Don’t worry.” Allura said, wrapping her arm around Lance’s shoulders and giving him a squeeze. “Leave everything to me and prepare to be amazed.”

They went to the front desk and asked the nurse sitting behind the desk to have Shiro called down to the lobby, where they moved into the attached café to have their meeting. Lance watched as Allura clearly stated what they wanted from Shiro.

“If we have a member of the Paladins as the producer from this, we might be able to target the fans of the Paladins and pull them in. here’s the proposal plan we have.” Allura said, holding out the sealed package for Shiro to take.

Except he didn’t. “I refuse.”

“What?” Lance said, surprised Shiro was doing that.

“Can I ask why? I’m telling you that if you don’t do this, we won’t be able to go through with this plan. So please, for Lance’s sake, please do this.” Allura asked, bowing her head.

“I refuse.” Shiro said again as he took a sip of his coffee.

“Why not!” Allura demanded to know.

“I don’t have to tell you my reason.” Shiro said, narrowing his eyes at Allura.

“Do you not understand that you are the only other person we can ask?” Allura demanded to know.

Lance looked down at the table as Allura and Shiro’s discussion washed over him. He had been scared of this, of the chance Shiro would say no. he didn’t know what he’d do now. This was his last chance. And now it was gone.

* * *

 

“I guess the plan was a bit flawed. We’ll have to find a way to repatch it.” Allura said as they sat in traffic.

“Allura, I don’t think I thought this through. Shiro hurts from my parent’s death so he might not want to be involved in this.” Lance said.

“Lance, don’t say that.” Allura said. “He should at the very least help you do this because of what it means to you.”

“I guess.”

“Lance? I just realised, but why are you holding a pillow?”

“What are you talking about? I’m holding Pidge.” Lance said, looking down to see Pidge was gone and he was holding a white pillow, Rover on the pillow. “Rover? Where the hell did Pidge go?” All he got was a beep.

While Lance tried to figure out where his green eared friend disappeared, Shiro walked into his office. He put his clipboard down and went to sit in his black office chair when it changed. Shiro turned to see his chair was now a brown leather chair with a note taped to it saying, ‘producer’s chair’. He let out a huff. He couldn’t see them, but he knew one of Lance’s Shinigami had stayed behind. He sat in the chair and pulled out his pen from his pocket and started filling things out on the paperwork when the pen disappeared from his hand. He looked up at the green lion glaring at him.

“Can you give that back?” Shiro asked.

“if I give it back, will you listen to our request?”

Shiro groaned. “It’s Pidge, right?” he asked.

“I don’t give my name to someone who’s being mean.”

Shaking his head, he reached for his pen cup, when Pidge swiped the rest of them.

“Hey, listen!” Shiro snapped

“Pretty please? Why won’t you do it?”

Shiro took a deep breath. He had his reasons. He wasn’t about to explain it to a stuffed animal. He decided to work on his computer instead and tapped the screen to wake it up and signed back in with his fingerprint on the screen. The document he’d been working on before came up but before he could start writing, Pidge jumped in and with the help of two pens she’d stolen, she started typing please over and over before she started physically begging.

“Your being annoying.” Shiro said, wondering if Pidge’s glares were supposed to be scary.

“And you’re an ass! You don’t deserve Lance!” Pidge yelled at him before disappearing. Her words did stay in Shiro’s mind. He had his reasons.

* * *

 

“He’s so hard headed! Doesn’t he understand that Lance has a lot to do in such little time?”

“Remember, he said he wouldn’t accept Lance’s short time.” Hunk reminded.

“Ok fine, but still. This song is important to Lance and he won’t even tell us why he’s not doing it. Lance, is he always like this? Lance?” the two Shinigami looked to see Lance shaking his phone and looking disappointed. “What in the underworld’s name are you doing?”

“I downloaded an app to help me decided if I should ask Shiro myself to be my producer or not. I got tell him, but I can’t.”

“Lance, no matter how many times you go through that, you’ll never be satisfied with your answer. Did you ever think Shiro might have said no because he doesn’t know how you feel?” Hunk asked. “You need to be completely sure of how your feeling before you can ask him.” Hunk advised.

“I could never think of giving up music but Shiro had even though I know he loves it. There’s a part of him that loves it enough to continue to promise me that he’ll help me achieve my dreams. It had to be the hardest thing to do, harder than what I’m going through now.” Lance said.

“But you’re not going to give up on _Eternal Snow,_ are you?” Pidge asked.

“Of course not.” Lance said.

“Then there we go. Now we just need to think about our other option.” Pidge said.

Lance looked down at his phone to see he got a text from Keith.

** Are your busy tomorrow? I’m about to get busy and I forgot I have these tickets to this event at a planetarium at a college. We can forget this Eternal Snow business for a whole day. **

_ Seeing how my day went, sure. _

** Do you want to talk about it? **

_ No, I just want to go see this event. Pick me up early. _

Even though Lance wanted to focus on the plans he had, his mind kept slipping back to Shiro. The song was important to him, but he didn’t want to push Shiro. But was it worth giving up on something that was important to him?

* * *

 

“You’re quite.” Keith said, fixing his face mask as he and Lance walked to the science building where the planetarium was housed.

“My chance of a producer didn’t really work out. I thought he’d say yes or at least think about it, but he refused and won’t even tell me why.” Lance explained, his own face mask on his face, his fake glasses sitting on his nose. “I don’t want to think about it though.”

“Sorry. I promised no talk of work and here I am, making you think about work.” Keith said apologetically.

“It’s ok. I know you’re about as worried as we are. But don’t even think about doing what you said you’d do yesterday.”

“Hmm?” Keith pretended not to hear Lance.

“Keith!”

“Think of it as payback. Lance, I’m not going to feel right about doing this if you aren’t doing it with me and nothing you threaten me with is gonna change my mind.”

Lance pouted behind his face mask. He wanted to say Keith was being unfair but part of him felt happy Keith wanted to do it with him. Still though, he’d feel bad if he had been the reason Keith didn’t do the song.

They entered the building and Keith handed over the tickets before leading them into the planetarium. It seemed strange how with how much Akira loved the stars, Lance never went to a planetarium. The two preferred to sit either in the sun room or outside and look up at the stars. He followed Keith to a set of seats in the middle section and they sat down. The lighting was dim, so the two singers pulled of their face masks and leaned back.

“You know, I’ve never been to a planetarium before.” Lance said quietly.

“Really? Never?”

“Yeah, I always looked at the stars outside and Akira.” Lance stopped. He never mentioned Akira to Keith.

“Who’s Akira?”

“Um, he’s someone I care about. We lived together in the same foster home and he’s always encouraged me to follow my dreams. He got adopted and he promised we would find each other again when we achieved our dreams. He wants to be an astronomer, so I’ve always looked the stars outside.”

“Oh.” Keith said. “He means more than just a brother, doesn’t he?”

Lance shrugged. “He told me how he felt before he left but I never told him because I couldn’t get it out. I know he’ll be able to find me soon.”

Keith was quiet, and Lance looked over to him to see his bangs covering his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something when Keith lifted his head. Lance couldn’t be sure because of the dim lighting, but it almost looked like his eyes were full of something? Why did it look like hurt?

“He will. With your singing, he’ll find you.”

Before Lance could say anything more, the lights dimmed more except for the man sitting at podium.

“Today, we’ll look at how the positions of stars and the moon don’t change, no matter where in the solar system.” The celling became covered in different constellations, shadows of pervious positions. “While their positions in the sky will never always be the same, their shapes will never change. Even with the many different systems and the number of things that happen in the universe, they will always stay as a way of showing the universe that things can stay the same. In relation to the sun and moon, they depend on each other. The moon doesn’t shine by itself. With the light of the sun, we can clearly see the moon in the night sky each night except for when it’s a full moon.”

Hearing that, Lance remembered something Akira had said.

_“There are many people in your life that help you shine like the moon Lance. There’s everyone in our foster home, your grandmother, the memories of your parents, all the friends you have, even me. If you stay true to yourself when you’re with them, they they’ll help you shine even brighter.”_

Shiro was always a person who believed in Lance to be able to push through anything. If anyone needed to ask Shiro to be his manager, it was Lance himself, not Allura or anyone else. Him. And he wanted Shiro to be there behind him in this project. He trusted him to be there and be a driving force.

“Keith,” Lance leaned over and whispered, “I’m really sorry but I need to go. I realised that only I can go ask my godfather to help me and I need to do it now.”

“I can drop you off.”

“No, you wanted a day away from work before you get focused on everything. I’ll take a taxi. Hopefully I’ll text with good news.” Lance said.

He quietly got out of his seat and left the planetarium and Keith flopped in his seat not paying attention anymore. Akira. Lance had someone already named Akira. Lance apparently hadn’t seen him for a long time, but he seemed confident they’d met each other again. Keith…didn’t have a chance, did he?

“Crap.”

* * *

 

“What was it you needed to talk to me about?” Shiro asked, looking at the brown haired teen in front of him.

Lance bowed low as he spoke, “Shiro, I’m begging you. Please be my producer!”

“Lance…look, even if it’s you asking, there are things I can and can’t do.” Shiro explained, looking like he wanted to end the conversation.

“I know that, but I still have to ask. Please Shiro, I want you to help me do _Eternal Snow_.”

At the name of the song, Shiro’s eyes widened and he turned away from Lance. “That’s impossible Lance. I’m happy that you feel that way, having trust in me.”

Lance straightened up. This was it. He had gone out and asked but he didn’t succeed in what he wanted.

“Lance.” Lance turned to see Hunk floating behind him. He had forgotten Hunk had been floating nearby. “Doesn’t he have any regrets?”

“What? What do you mean?” Lance asked.

“Lance? Are those Shinigami here again?” Shiro asked, getting his answer when the plush version of Hunk appeared. “What now?”

“Here’s what. Do you really not feel anything for music anymore?”

Shiro looked surprised at Hunk’s question but strengthened his face. “Nothing at all.”

“Wow, I’m jealous.” Hunk drawled, almost sarcastic.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Well I’m a Shinigami. I might work in the paediatric department, but I’ve seen a ton of people in my line of work and everyone who’s died, dies with regrets. I shouldn’t even be saying this, but I’ve broken the law so many times, I don’t think it matters anymore but while you’re still alive and you have something you love, you give it your all!”

Shiro looked away from Hunk, looking annoyed. “I don’t need to hear this from a Shinigami.”

“And I guess looking like I do, it’s hard to even take me seriously. But it’s like I said, you can only do what you love while you’re still alive. Why do you think Lance is working so hard? His goal might be Akira, but I know that he loves singing more than anything which is why he went through so much to even still be able to still sing. There’ll be sadness and suffering, but compared to you, he’s more than-” before Hunk could finish his rant, Lance grabbed him, covering his mouth.

“Shiro, I’m so sorry. We’ll go.” Lance said, apologizing as he took a struggling Hunk out of Shiro’s office, Hunk’s muffled cursing disappearing down the hall, leaving Shiro sitting in silence.

His hands tightened into fists, the metal of his prosthetic creaking. He had regrets, oh so many regrets as he left the world of music, but it hurt too much. He had lost Seb and Mio and… and after everything, he had promised he’d forget about music completely and focus on being a doctor, the thing that music had helped him pay for. The thing had been balancing going to school for while they had all those performances. He thought he could fully separate the two worlds. He never regretted being a doctor. Even when he was a musician, it was something he wanted to do. But the worlds had obviously been too intertwine because even though he loved his job as a doctor, any sign of music made him hurt inside.

_‘I wonder if that was the regret I felt?’_

He thought of what Hunk said to him. He knew Hunk was going to call Lance stronger than him, and honestly, he was right. Lance’s grandmother banded any mention of music and with his cancer, Lance didn’t have a future in singing, but he never let that stopped him. He’d find Lance on his hospital bed singing _New Future_ as loud as his voice would let him or back when he was staying with Allura and he came to check up on him, he’d be singing _Myself_. Even through pain and suffering, even when music had been the reason for it, Lance never gave up on it. What did that say about him? Hell, what would Seb and Mio say about him, letting Lance suffer by himself and him giving up so easily?

* * *

 

“Why is Lance not talking to you?” Pidge asked as she leaned back to peek through the half open barn door, where Lance was curled up on his bed, not asleep but not really talking with everyone else.

“I pissed him off after yelling at Shiro. But he deserved it. I could tell that he regretted leaving music, but he was refusing to help Lance. What else could I do?”

“Not yell at the guy Lance trust more than anything? This isn’t easy for him either.” Pidge reminded.

“I know.” Hunk said, his ears on his headband seeming to droop.

Pidge shook her head. “Our spots are supposed to be reversed. I’m the one who gets in trouble with Lance and you’re the one who’s supposed to offer advice.”

“Alright, alright. We get it, I need to work on my temper.”

“More like we need to work on how you word things sometimes. Come on, Lance has got work tomorrow.” Pidge said, getting up to go convince Lance to go take a shower, leaving Hunk to pout a bit more.

The next morning Lance was talking to Hunk again but not without a bit of glaring.

“How much am I going to have to apologize?” Hunk asked.

“Maybe it shouldn’t have to be an option. I still can’t believe you yelled at Shiro like that.”

“I’m sorry but he deserved it.” Hunk said.

“Hey, it’s Allura!” Pidge interrupted.

The white haired Altean stumbled over to Lance, her cloud of hair almost completely out of control, dark circles under her blue-purple eyes.

“Are you ok? What happened?”

“I went out drinking late night. I told the head of our team that we really wanted to do the song and he said if I couldn’t get a new song or a producer, that Altea Records might replace me with a new manager.”

“They won’t really do that would they?” Lance asked.

“Don’t worry. I have something over them. But let’s not talk about that now. We need to get on the train.” Allura said, heading to the gates, stumbling over her feet.

“Take care of her during the photo shoot and I’ll forgive you.” Lance said to Hunk.

“Do I have to?” Lance glared at him. “Alright, fine.”

With Rover’s help, they two Shinigami got a cold compress to keep pressed to the back of Allura’s neck, a bottle of ginger ale and pain meds close at hand. Hunk was just glad Allura didn’t need to go throw up. She was looking a bit better when Lance was finished with his photo shoot and going around thanking people.

“How are you feeling?” Lance asked picking up the compress from the back of Allura’s neck.

“I don’t think I’ll be sick. Ugg, why did I go for nunvill? That’s stuff potent enough to act like a fuel to a bomb.” Allura groaned.

“Come on. Lunch is on me, we’ll get something really greasy.” Lance said, letting Pidge and Hunk get into his bag before he put it onto his shoulder and waited for Allura to get up. As he watched Allura struggle he noticed a familiar figure standing near the door. “Shiro?”

“Huh, what?” Allura asked, turning, her face flushing when she noticed Shiro was indeed standing there. “What’s he doing here?”

Lance moved over to Shiro to find out the answer to that question.

“The offer you made a few days ago.” Shiro started once Allura had stumbled over.

“Shiro, I’m so sorry about that.” Lance started but his godfather stopped him.

“I have a few conditions, but I’ll be Lance’s producer.”

“What?” the group asked at once.

“What conditions? If you want something…” Allura said.

“I don’t want money, far from it. You don’t even have to pay me, the fact that I’m making music again is more than enough for me.” Shiro said, looking down at Hunk.

“Then what are your conditions?” Lance asked, trying not to vibrate until he got actual from the mouth confirmation.

“Lance has to get his throat checked regularly and that when time comes, we’ll do what I said and do the surgery.”

“The surgery?” Lance asked, his hand going to his throat.

“Not the one I had been talking about before. I won’t make you do that one.”

“Promise?” Lance asked.

“I promise. I’ll be doing the surgery and I’ll have to be doing a lot more research in between producing your song now that I’m working part time.”

“Part time?” Lance questioned.

Shiro shrugged. “If the Paladins were still together, that’s what I would have done anyway. I love music too much to give it up for a job at a hospital. But I can’t give it up completely because I still have something that I need to do and that’s to heal your throat. I’m keeping my promise to your parents and besides, we all want to hear you sing _Eternal Snow_.”

Lance launched himself as Shiro, the man stumbling to hold them both up as Lance started to try and squeeze the life out of him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise I’ll make you proud. Thank you so much!”

“I know you’ll make me proud. I hope you’re ready to work hard.”

Lance pulled away, the smile on his face telling all. “I’m so excited!” he let out a little scream, jumping in place before hugging Shiro again. “Thank you!”

* * *

 

Keith accepted the drink from one of the assistants as Kolivan sat with the sound engineer trying to come up with a beat for Keith’s cover of _Eternal Snow._

“Sir, I just thought you should know. Isamu, Prince of Altea has a new producer who will be producing _Eternal Snow_.” The assistant said.

“Oh, who is it? I heard they went asking around and no one wanted to go up against me.” Kolivan asked, focusing on the screen in front of him.

“I heard that it was Takashi Shirogane.”

Keith started coughing on his drink as Kolivan faced the assistant. “You’re not serious.”

“That’s what they’re saying. He started to work part time for the hospital he works for and he went and signed the paperwork at Altea.”

“I know I suggested he find someone new, but I didn’t think he’d do this. He said he was asking his godfather.” Keith coughed through.

“Isamu’s godfather is Takashi Shirogane? Red, I hope you’re ready. I know you said you didn’t want a to the death battle between you and Isamu, but that’s what the audience might want. I hope your ready.”


	17. The meaning to the Assassin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got back from London yesterday and that was a trip. Wow, that had happened. I was in London for two weeks. Anyway, I thankfully remembered the date so here's a new chapter. Also, wanted to let you know that I had to cut a lot of stuff because the deadline had been coming up and I wasn't near done so I do want to do a side series that has the stuff that meant to be part of the original story. I've been a bit busy but the first arch does happen during the whole Eternal Snow 'battle'. I have to look at my time line again to deiced where it would of fallen if I didn't take it out so look forward to reading it.

Lance stood in front of the train station, waiting for Shiro to come pick him up. They were about to go to the concept meeting, which was certain to be interesting. It had been announced that Shiro would be Isamu’s producer and now everyone was watching as Red and Isamu, Prince of Altea battled with their covers of _Eternal Snow._ He was planning on talking to Keith about letting everyone know how good friends they were so the fans wouldn’t go insane and try and have them rip each other apart. Plus, Empire wouldn’t be able to do anything because all eyes would be on them. Of course, that would be after the concept meeting when the team knew what both Keith and Lance wanted.

Of course, Shiro had to get there for anything to happen.

“He’s late.” Hunk said from his spot in Lance’s bag.

“He won’t even answer my calls. Where the hell is he?” Lance complained. Shiro wasn’t like this usually and he know how this was to Lance. He thought he’d want to make a good impression, but is he took any longer to get there, they were going to be late.

“Calm down Lance. It’ll be ok.” Hunk said trying to calm Lance down.

“Trying to be calm isn’t helping right now.” Lance whined a bit when he finally spotted Shiro’s car. “There he is!” the car pulled up in front of Lance and the singer was ready to start yelling but then he stopped when Shiro climbed out of the car. Usually Shiro would be in a suit but not this time. Ripped jeans, grey V-neck shirt and a black blazer replaced the clothes Lance was used to seeing Shiro in. He was reminded why he used to have a crush on Shiro.

“Sorry I’m late.” Shiro said. He then realised that Lance was staring at him. “What’s wrong? Do I look weird?”

“Uhh…”

“I think you broke him.” Hunk teased.

Lance glared down at Hunk. “Shut up.”

Shiro looked embarrassed. “I thought my suits would be a bit weird to be a producer for a pop star, so I went shopping last night.”

Lance looked closer at Shiro’s face. “Are you wearing eyeliner?” Lance was definitely seeing wings on Shiro’s eyelids.

Looking a bit more embarrassed, Shiro shrugged, “It was kinda my look when I was in the band and I couldn’t exactly wear it at the hospital.”

“I mean you could.” Lance said.

“I’d get in trouble though.” Shiro stated.

“How do you manage to get a perfect wing though?” Lance said.

Shiro laughed, “How about I explain in the car, we still have a meeting to get to.”

“Oh right. Speaking of which, you couldn’t call? I thought you were gonna be so late.” Lance started ranting, Shiro smiling patiently as they climbed into the car.

While Lance had been worried, they did get there in time. Allura was waiting for them and she took them up to the meeting room, though they were stopped when Hira came and met them on the way.

“Shiro, so nice to see you again.”

Lance watched as Shiro smiled pleasantly and then looked over to his boss who looked like it was taking everything in her not to start glaring.

“Nice to see you too Hira. I guess we’ll be working in the same field again.”

“Isn’t that just great?” Hira said, looking like it was paining her to say that and that she wanted to rip Shiro’s head off, as he still smiled at her. Lance really wanted to know what happened between the two of them.

“Just like old times. I’ll see you around then? We have a concept meeting to get to.”

“Of course. Isamu. Allura, _great_ job landing him.” Hira sounded sarcastic as she said that but Allura just gave her a smile.

“Thank you. Right this way Shiro, your team is eager to meet you.”

Lance followed Allura and Shiro but looked over his shoulder to see Hira clenching her first tightly.

“Uh, Shiro? Do you and Hira know each other?”

“She was signed to the same company as the Paladins. She never really liked us, and I guess that never changed. You just learned to smile and bear it as she glared at you.” Shiro explained. “She tried to blackmail your dad when news came out about your mom being pregnant, but your dad beat her to the bunch by telling the news about her and how he was going to marry her. I don’t think I’ve seen someone get so red in anger so quickly.” Shiro looked like he was reliving good memories, but Lance felt worried. If it was that bad back then, what would it be like now?

All eyes were on Shiro as he entered the meeting room, the team ready to meet their producer. Shiro waited for Lance and Allura to sit down before facing the room.

“Good morning everyone. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Takashi Shirogane. I’m the producer for Isamu, Prince of Altea for the release of his cover of _Eternal Snow_. I know most of you worked with Kolivan with _Myself,_ but I do hope we can all work together very well.” Shiro said, bowing his head, the other members replying back.

They went around introducing themselves before they got into the reason they were there.

“So, have you chosen a concept for the cover?” a member of the team asked.

“Actually no.” Shiro answered.

“What? That’s not good. If we don’t plan…”

“I don’t think planning ahead is the most important thing. Coming up with a concept everyone can agree with is the most important thing.”

“But what about the schedule?” another person asked.

“If we only went through a superficial routine concerning this song, it wouldn’t allow the song to be at its best in my opinion.” Allura said.

“Excuse me?”

“The point is,” another team member interrupted, “even if we ignore the schedule, without a concept we can’t find someone to arrange it, which staff members would work best.”

“Isamu,” Shiro said, turning to Lance, “what is it that _you_ want for this song?”

Lance smiled. Kolivan had asked his opinion but he could tell Shiro would want him much more involved in the process.

“I want this song to be able to give everyone who listens to it a warm feeling. Even those who say they don’t like music, I want to be able to touch their hearts with this warmth that I felt when I heard the song.” Lance explained, the room quiet as they listened. The touching moment was interrupted by Lance’s phone buzzing on the table. He hit the lock button to ignore the call. “Sorry. But that’s what I want.”

“Is there anything else? Is there a particular way you want to do this song?” Shiro asked.

“Yeah. I want to do like the original with a slow tempo and I want to have the lyrics done in English.”

“The English shouldn’t be an issue. I was looking last night and I’m happy to report that I have the original lyrics and we had translated them into English so if we decide to have someone help us with making them a bit more personable, we can do that.” Shiro said to the room.

“That’s perfect. Anything else Isamu?”

“No, that’s everything I want. I trust everyone else to take care of everything else.” Lance’s phone started buzzing again but was once again silenced.

“I take it everyone can agree with what Isamu wants?” Shiro asked, a resounding agreement sounding around the room. “Excellent, now we can start on what we’re here to do.”

“Now that we know the direction we’re going in, we can figure out the image. We know that Red’s image will have to encompass everything on his album, so we have my freedom in terms of-”

Once again, the room was filled with Lance’s phone buzzing. Shiro reached over and grabbed Lance’s phone and silenced it, putting it on Do Not Disturb mood before pocketing in his own inside pocket. “When you get this back, call Red.”

“ _He’s_ been calling me?” Lance asked.

“After.” Was all Shiro said before he turned back to the staff member.

* * *

 

Lance was handed back his phone by Shiro and Lance’s eyes widened when he saw that Keith had called him multiple times. There were a few text messages, but because they were all from the same person, all it said was Keith’s name and the number of messages he had from him, which was quite a high number. Clearing his notifications from his screen, he unlocked his phone and called Keith.

“Keith?” He asked when the call went through and Keith picked up.

_“WHY THE FUCK DID YOU NEVER TELL ME YOUR GODFATHER WAS TAKASHI SHIROGANE?!”_ Keith yelled over the speaker, making Lance yank the phone away from his ear. _“What the hell Lance? You never thought to mention the godfather you were hoping to be your producer was the keyboard player of the same song we’re both doing? My dad saw this guy perform when he wanted to marry my mother. You couldn’t happen to mention that guy was your godfather?”_

“Um one, hi. Two, could you be any louder? Three, I was in my concept meeting, you didn’t have to keep calling me.”

_“Are you serious? That’s what your focused on? Lance!”_ Keith asked, sounding annoyed.

“Ok, ok, I’m sorry. If it makes you feel any better, no one knows he’s my godfather. Allura only knows because he’s also listed as my guardian on my files. I didn’t feel fully comfortable telling anyone because well, it’s Shiro. Everyone knows who he is, and it would be a big blinking factor to who Isamu, Prince of Altea is.” Lance explained.

_“oOk, fine I get that. But you still couldn’t mention it to me? I’m your best friend.”_ Keith whined.

“I’m mentioning it now. Besides, it’s not like it’d be a horrible thing for you to know. Knowing Kolivan, he’s not going to let something like this stop him.” Lance said.

_“No, he did warn me though about how people would be expecting a fight because of our producers. I did tell my team that isn’t what I wanted.”_

“Same. I explained to them that the song means a lot to us and we want to focus on releasing the best version of it we can give to everyone. We’re not trying to outdo each other so if the public wants to fight a little, we won’t give them a huge blown out battle they want.” Lance looked over to see Shiro finishing his conversation with one of the team members. “Keith, are you busy now?”

_“I’m about to go into an interview about the album. I’m sure they’re going to ask about Eternal Snow and how I feel going up against a rising artist. Kolivan suggested if I really wanted to show I don’t want to go into a battle over the song with you, it would be helpful to mention how good of friends we are. I hope that’s ok.”_ Keith asked.

“Of course. I can post that behind the scene photo of us from the merch shoot if it’ll help them believe you. It would be nice if we didn’t have to hide our friendship from everyone. Empire wouldn’t do anything would they?” Lance questioned.

_“Not with all the attention on them right now with us competing with this song.”_ Keith said, sounding proud.

“Ok, what about after the interview, are you busy then?”

_“Uh, not for another 2 hours. Why?”_ Keith asked curiously.

“Come over, I can tell you how I know Shiro.” Lance said, watching Shiro walk over to him.

_“Sure, I guess. You won’t be busy?”_

“No, we have to get the lyrics finalized and then figure out the schedule, so we can get the music recorded before I go in so I’m just waiting to get the lyrics right now.” Lance said, tugging at Shiro’s blazer so he knew to stay.

_“Alright. I’ll text you when I’m done with the interview.”_ Keith said.

“Alright. See you then, bye.” Lance hung up and smiled sweetly at Shiro, who looked apprehensive. “Shiro, can you do me a huge favour?”

“The last time you asked me this, I took you out and then you collapsed.” Shiro reminded.

“Ok yes, but this is much safer. How would you like to meet one of my best friends and the guy we’re technically competing against?”

* * *

 

Keith let the stage hand fix his mic’s position as he scrolled through his phone. Everyone was talking about him and Lance’s ‘battle’ with _Eternal Snow_. He hoped he’d be able to get everyone to understand that he didn’t want it to be a battle. The song was important to him and Lance in terms of their family. He just wanted to share something that meant a lot to him with everyone. The song felt like it had been the only evidence that his mother loved his father.

He remembered once when his mom was home with him and his dad, he had found the two of them dancing in the living room, his dad’s voice floating in the room as he sang _Eternal Snow_. His mom had her head resting on her husband’s shoulder and her face was so relaxed and happy. That one memory was the only evidence he had of his mother ever even caring about him.

But he didn’t want to focus on that right now. He was looking at the picture Lance had just posted, the one from the ‘Stars of the Forgotten Prince’ merch shoot. Looking at how close they were in that picture though reminded Keith he didn’t have a chance with Lance. Lance had Akira, whoever he was, waiting for him.

Great his mood was sinking lower and lower. He shook his head, attempting to dispel the thoughts when his phone started ringing. He didn’t recognise the number, but he did know it was a Mamoran number. He didn’t know who from the Blade would be calling him and not have their own personal number entered into his phone.

“Ok, we’re ready to start!” the stage manager announced.

Keith declined the call and handed his phone to Thace as the host got into her seat and the stage was cleared from the other staff members.

“Alright, in 5, 4, 3.”

“Welcome everyone, to Star Ace. I’m your host Veronica and today with me I have one half of what people are calling the _Eternal Snow_ War, please welcome the Galran Assassin of Music, Red!”

“Hi everyone.” Keith greeted.

“Now Red, you gained the name Assassin of Music for a few reasons. The biggest is your connection with the Blade of Mamora. Another is how you’ve been able to, slay, if you will, your competition.” Veronica said.

“Sure, I’ll go with that.” Keith joked.

“With the announcement of your upcoming mini-album, you announced you’d be doing a cover of a famous song by a famous band, _Eternal Snow_ by the Paladins. And then not long after that, the up and coming singer from Altea Records, Isamu, Prince of Altea, announced he’d be doing the same. Do you think this prince has proclaimed a challenge?”

“I don’t actually, expressly since we were both told no one else was doing and because my mini-album was announced first before news of his second single, it looks like he’s copying but I can assure he’s not.” Keith explained, ready for the question he knew would be getting.

“Is this because you know the prince personally?”

“Yes, Isamu and I are pretty good friends. I’d call him one of my best friends.”

Looking sly, Veronica asked, “So that picture on Isamu’s Instagram with the two of you cosied up isn’t a fake.”

Keith shook his head, trying not to blush at the wording. “No. Isamu invited me to come with him to his merch photoshoot so that’s what that picture was from. He wanted a picture in his outfit. He took the picture but because of the animosity between Altea and Empire Records, he never posted it.”

“That does make me curious to how the two of you ended up becoming friends.”

“Well, I heard about him from my manager and when I was reading the interview in Galaxy Star Monthly he did, when he mentioned the book series inspired his stage name, I got excited because I grew up with that series, so it meant a lot to know it meant something to someone too. Then I got to go to his debut performance, which was amazing.”

“Those angel wings that sprouted from him? What a show stopper.” Veronica gushed.

“It was. I officially got to meet him when he was on Ryner’s show, the Enka singer? I didn’t know he was a bit of a fan of mine because he had a bit of a fanboy meltdown I guess.” Keith said, laughing at the memory of the first thing Lance said to him.

“Oh?” Veronica prodded.

“Let’s just say that his first sentence to me wasn’t a full sentence. After that, I found out we’d actually be in a photoshoot together, but that photoshoot got cancelled. I was leaving and then I go crashing to the floor because Isamu, who had been rushing over and not checking his messages, tripped on the stairs and we crashed into each other.”

“Oh, my goodness. You were both ok right?” Veronica asked concerned, despite the event had been so long ago.

“Yeah, we were fine. Hit my head kinda hard but it gave me the excuse to ask him to hang out. We did, and we really bonded. Next thing I know we ended up texting almost every day and we hang out almost every free day we have as well.”

“So, you two are really close.”

“We are. When I found out he wanted to do _Eternal Snow_ , I offered to drop the song from the album and he threatened that if I did, he’d be very upset and angry.”

“Oh! The assassin scared of the prince?” Veronica teased.

Remembering how Lance would not give into what Keith offered, Keith said, “If you know him well enough, you know not to say no to him.”

The two laughed. “So, you two had reasons for choosing this song as new songs for you guys. Why did you choose this song?”

“This song is something that my dad always seemed to be singing. It was important to my parents and when he’d sing it, I had this feeling of safety and love. I want to be able to share that with my fans, these feelings.”

“You don’t really talk a lot about your parents. Do you think they’d be excited to listen to this?” Veronica asked gently.

“My dad would no doubt be singing praises, part because it’s a Paladin song, part because it’s me singing it. My mom…” Keith trailed off not sure what to say. He never got any messages with the other albums and songs he sent to his mom. How could he be sure she’d pay attention to this song? “I think she would like it.”

He hoped she did.

* * *

 

Keith knocked on Lance’s door, pulling the buzzing cell phone out of his pocket. The same number was calling him, but he was hesitant to answer. Yes, it was a number the Blades used to contact members, but all the members he knew, he had numbers for.

“Hey!” Lance greeted as he pulled the door open, leaving Keith to put his cell phone in his pocket again as he let Lance pull him in.

He faced Lance as he spoke. “You mister, have explaining to do. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you personally know Takashi Shirogane.”

“Shiro.” Lance corrected as he walked Keith backwards into the apartment.

“Ok yes, thank you. Still though.”

Lance shrugged, “I have to keep a lot of my life secret. I’m assuming you may have mentioned something to Kolivan right?”

“I practically shouted it out. What else was I supposed to do when they say that you got the former Black Lion Champion as your producer and you kept mentioning getting your godfather to be your producer?” Keith said, expecting that eventually Lance was going to lead him the arm of an armchair.

“I guess I can’t fully fault that.” Lance said.

“You don’t need to worry, Kolivan already told his team if anyone finds out that he’s your godfather and he knows you didn’t say anything, they were in huge trouble.”

“Aww, he does still like me.” Lance said as he stopped moving.

“Well you did beat me in the shortest time for writing songs. I heard you got 3 days while he gave me a week. Plus, with no experience in writing, it’s not sur-” Keith stopped when he crashed into something that wasn’t the arm of a chair. Thinking it was Allura over to still work with Lance, he turned, an apology on his tongue but he stopped when he saw who was standing behind him.

“Hi.” Shiro greeted, a kind smile on his face.

“Oh my fucking god.” Keith said in return.

“Huh, I guess that’s slightly better than what I said to you.” Lance said.

“You’re, you’re, you’re.” Keith stuttered.

“Or not.”

Taking pity on Keith, Shiro held out his hand, “I’m Shiro. Nice to meet you. It’s Keith, right?” Keith mutely nodded. “It’s a pleasure. I’m sure Lance has told you about how big of a fan he is of your music. Thank you for making the music that helps him smile.”

Keith tried to form a sentence, a ‘thank you’, a ‘not a problem’, something but nothing was coming out.

“Wow Shiro, I think you broke him. I don’t think I was nearly as bad with meeting him.” Lance said, giggling at Keith.

The comment got Keith moving though, as he glared at Lance over his shoulder, “You shouted an incoherent sentence at me.”

“You can’t speak!” Lance yelled back, disbelieving Keith was bringing up the most embarrassing moment of his life. He could hear Hunk and Pidge giggling from the bedroom.

“Ok, let’s calm down.” Shiro said, ending their argument before it could even fully start. “I’m glad Lance was able to find a friend like you Keith.”

“Oh, of course. I mean, I’m glad to have him as a friend too.”

“Of course, you are. I’m amazing.” Lance said.

“Funny.” Keith said.

Shaking his head, Shiro said, “I do have to get to work but it was very nice to meet you Keith. I wish you the best on your album and your version of _Eternal Snow_.” Shiro said, shaking Keith’s hand.

“Thank you.” Keith said gratefully.

“Of course. I’m sorry I can’t stay longer. One of my colleagues at the hospital can’t find paperwork for one of my patients and I’d rather go to the hospital to reorganize everything. If Allura doesn’t text you the new schedule when we get it, I will ok?” Shiro said to Lance.

“Got it.” Lance answered as Shiro left his apartment, where Keith hit him hard on his shoulder. “Ow! What the hell?”

“What the hell was _that_! Did you invite me over to just do that?”

Looking insulted, Lance put his hands on his hips as he said, “Your welcome by the way. Way to sound grateful. It was my way of apologizing for not telling you about Shiro, but apparently someone could care less.”

“I’m sorry but you couldn’t warn me?” Lance levelled a glare at him, still annoyed Keith was acting so annoyed by this. “Ok, ok, look. I really am sorry with how I acted but Lance, this guy, he was part of the band that sang the song my dad would almost always sing in the house. My mom, I remember when my dad would sing it, my mom seemed so at peace. Part of the reason I wanted to do this song was, so I can show my fans the same warmth and safety I felt listening to my dad sing this.”

Lance stared at Keith. “You really know how to make a guy feel bad.”

“Sorry.”

“No, I really did mean to introduce you to Shiro, but I guess I should have remembered that he means a lot to other people too.” Lance said. “I think this is the first time I’ve heard something positive about your mom.”

Keith smiled to himself. “I don’t have a ton of good things to remember her by. I mean, there’s Kosmo.”

“Who?”

“My mom came home one day with this little black and blue furred space wolf pup. My dad thought my mom was insane, but I loved him. He can transport himself anywhere, so my dad had tons of fun trying to find me during games of hide and seek. My mom liked watching him look for us. I was her little fighter in training.” The smile faded a bit, “But after Thace officially had me, one of the heads asked if we could train him as a field soldier, helping with infiltration. He’s still with my mom.”

“No offence, but you’re not helping to make a good picture for her.” Lance said.

“Honestly, right now, I don’t have one.” Keith answered.

* * *

 

“The schedule for Isamu is changing now apparently, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we both end up recording _Eternal Snow_ on the same day. We can go ahead and work on the others first if that suits you better.” Kolivan said as Keith and Thace stood in his office.

“I trust you. Whatever you think works. We have to schedule _Tornado_ for whenever Regris is free anyway.” Keith said.

“Right. I’m having the head of the Blade send me his schedule. I’m lucky the two of you have been planning this for a while. With the music you two came up with, all we got to do is render it and we’re all good to go for when he gets here. Right, so we’ve still got _Thirsty_ , _Eternal Snow_ and _Enamel_ to record. I’ve never done a Korean song before, so I’d rather do that first. We can work on the other two after. I hope you like the vision I have for this song based off the lyrics you gave me.”

“Seeing how the song is basically about how I’m thirsty for a person’s love and body, nothing that will get me in trouble with the parents of my fans.”

“Don’t tempt me.” Kolivan said as he typed on his laptop. Keith wouldn’t be surprised if he tried.

He pulled his ringing cell phone out again, still trying to figure out who from the Blade could be calling him.

“You gonna answer that?” Thace asked.

Keith showed his godfather the screen, “I don’t recognise the number. I know it from Blade communications, but all the Blades I know have my number.”

Thace took the cell phone and answered himself. “Who is this and why are you calling? Oh.” Thace glanced over at Keith. “I wasn’t expecting you to call him this way. Hang on.” He handed the cell back to Keith, “I’d go into one of the empty conference rooms if I were you.”

Feeling confused, Keith put the phone up to his ear. “Hello?”

_“Keith?”_

He wasn’t expecting to hear that voice. Hadn’t heard it in what seemed like years. He’d hoped the hear this voice when he was 15 when he went to the Blade headquarters, but she hadn’t even been there. Working on _Eternal Snow_ was sure to bring memories, but he didn’t think he’d be facing it this way. He walked out of the office and went into the nearest conference room, hitting the dimmer for the clear window wall before he spoke.

“Mom? What are you doing calling me from Blade communications? Don’t you have my cell number?”

_“I forgot it. I’ve been trying to call you all morning.”_

“Well I didn’t know who’d try to call me if they knew my number. Why are you calling? I thought you were on a mission.”

_“I’m finishing up actually. I…I heard you came looking for me.”_

Keith felt a burn of anger rush through his body. “Yeah, when I was 15! That was 4 years ago, almost 5 if you waited a few more months. Why does that matter now?”

_“I wanted to talk.”_ The line was silent. “ _Kosmo misses you. I thought it was time he come back to his owner.”_

Keith missed Kosmo as well but brining back his pet wasn’t going to change things. All he felt right now was anger and he didn’t want to talk to her like this.

“I’m busy. We can talk later.” He hung up and slammed his phone on the table, taking deep breaths. He wasn’t prepared for this. He knew he’d be faced with this eventually, but he never thought it’d be now. He closed his eyes and took deeper breaths. Maybe things could be fixed. Not everything obviously, but maybe it could start. He was doing _Eternal Snow_. If she heard that, she’d have to remember what it meant, and they could open the conversation like that. There was a chance it could get better, but right now, he couldn’t deal with it. Not now.

“Everything ok?” Thace asked.

Keith was sure his face told a different story. “I’m fine.”

The rest of the meeting seemed to fly by, Keith barely remembering hearing the music offered for _Thirsty_ and _Eternal Snow_. His thoughts were on his mom. She was back, and Keith didn’t know how he felt about it. Part of him wanted to call Lance and tell him but Lance so far, didn’t have a good opinion of his mom and he was sure he’d tell him to get answers and Keith didn’t know if he wanted those yet. He walked down the hall to his apartment, knowing Thace had been giving him concerned looks the whole time. If he’d driven to Kolivan’s office on his bike, god knows he’d be driving around mindlessly.

But this was fine. He’d go into his apartment, feed Snap and collapse on his bed for a while or the rest of the night. Maybe he’d able to convince himself to go to the Blade headquarters to go to the gym they had and train with the different Blades. He could clear his mind, figure out what he wanted. Make sense of everything.

Once his fob was accepted, Keith pushed the door open, ready to see Snap sitting at her usual corner for her to come over once he was in the door and his shoes were off. Instead, he saw a flash of blue light and he was pushed to the floor by a heavy weight that crashed into his chest. Groaning, he opened his eyes to stare up a black wolf with gold eyes and blue marking around his eyes. He knew this wolf.

“Kosmo?” hearing his master say his name, Kosmo’s tail started to wag and he started to lick at Keith’s face, ignoring Keith’s startled shouts to stop. “Kosmo, off!” he ordered firmly. Just like he did when he was a puppy, he immediately listened and got off, tail still wagging as he stared at Keith. Keith wasn’t looking at him though, he was looking at the woman standing up from the couch. The same mark that was on his cheek was on both of hers, her hair as two toned as Keith’s. “Mom.”

Krolia stared at her son. She was still in her uniform, the red and purple uniform of her bodyguard sector different from most of the black and purple uniforms of the Blades.

“Hello Keith.”

“What the fuck are you doing here?” he snapped, not in the mood to be polite. She wasn’t supposed to be here. Not yet, he wasn’t even near ready to see her.

“I wanted to see you. You said you were busy, so I came here to wait for you.”

Getting up from the floor, Keith stormed into the apartment, pulling his shoes off roughly and throwing them onto the floor as he stalked up to his mother. “How the hell did you even get in? Why are you even here? You never cared to come visit before, so why are you even bothering now?”

Krolia looked guilty, “I know, I’m sorry. After I lost your father, things became hard.”

“How did you think I felt? You were almost never home but I still had dad and then he got sick and he wasn’t getting better, and you weren’t there to tell me things were going to be fine. I thought you would have stuck around after the funeral, but you couldn’t get on that ship fast enough!”

Keith was seething. He wanted time to sort through everything, so they could have a normal conversation, but she had caught him completely off guard and he was angry.

“I know. I know I shouldn’t have left like that, but you can’t tell me that staying here hasn’t been good for you. I got all your albums Keith, every single one.”

Keith wanted to yell at her that she could have at least kept contact if getting away was so important, if she didn’t want to remove him from the life he had in Japan, but the admission of the one thing he always wondered stopped him. “You got them?” he asked, almost disbelievingly.

Krolia nodded, a small smile coming to her face. “I did. every last one. I listened to everyone so many times.”

“Then why didn’t you call? Why didn’t you let me know you had them?” he asked, begged to know.

“By the time I got the first CD, I had never called you Keith. I was so sure you hated me. I didn’t even know if you had sent them to me yourself, but you had left a print on the seal of the envelop and I got curious. It made me so happy to see that it belonged to you.”

“If I could send you stuff, couldn’t you send me something, a letter? Was your job that important you couldn’t put the same effort into me like I was doing for you?”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Was all she said.

Keith knew if this continued, he’d start screaming at her again and he wanted, _needed_ to be a calmer mindset.

“I can’t do this right now. You have to leave before I say something I regret. I’ll call you wen I can speak.”

His mother nodded, seeming upset but she didn’t argue. “I’ll leave. Kosmo isn’t needed by the Blade anymore so he can stay with you. He scared your cat by the way, she went dashing into a room.” Great, now he’d need to calm a hissy Snap down. “I also wanted to tell you congratulations on your new album. I know it’ll be amazing.”

Keith thought as she went to pick her bag up and scratched Kosmo under the chin and turned to her as he spoke. “Did you hear about the song I’m doing?”

Krolia looked confused for a moment before her eyes widened. “Yes, _Eternal Snow_ correct? By the Paladins?” Keith nodded, waiting for more. There had to be more. “I look forward to hearing your version. I’m sure it’ll be amazing.”

“That’s it?”

“I’m sorry?”

“That’s it? That’s all you have to say? You have nothing more to say about it?” Keith asked in disbelief.

“What else would there be to say?”

Keith’s hands clenched into fists and he gritted his teeth. She couldn’t be serious. “So, the song means nothing to you? Nothing at all? Nothing that had to do with dad?” Silence was all he got. “Get out.”

“What? Keith…”

“I said get out! You don’t even remember which pretty much cements the fact you never cared about me or dad! I don’t want to see or talk to you again! I can’t believe I wasted so much time wanting to make things better between the two of us when you can’t even care about what this song meant to you and dad, but why am I so surprised? You never cared before, why would you now? Now get out!”

Krolia stood there stunned before she slowly walked away and out of the door. Once the door was shut, Keith’s legs felt weak and he let himself fall to the floor.

“How could I have been so stupid? Of course, she doesn’t remember. Why would she? Damn it. Damn it!”


	18. The Prince's Eternal Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was only last week I was perfectly healthy, now I'm a sneezing mess who's very happy her college didn't have classes today. I hate getting sick. Anyway, you can tell I'm a bit obsessed with the K-Pop star TAEMIN because I've got Keith singing [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D25FPfkZ0GI) for one of his songs. I just think the voice would be a good fit. And [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtHJI95wC88) is the song for Lance. Listening to this song had pushed me into deciding to do this au for the Klance BB. Thank you Amalee.

Lance was worried. He’d been trying to call Keith but getting no answer. For 2 days. Lance had a radio interview tomorrow with Keith and he really hoped he could talk to Keith. Something felt like it was wrong, and Lance wanted to help.

“Still no answer?” Pidge asked, sighing when Lance shook his head. “I’m sure it’s nothing. You’re not as busy as he’s going to be, he’s doing a whole mini album, you’re doing a single and a cover at that.”

Lance sighed again. That was another thing. Kolivan had given him his whole schedule when they did _Myself_. Shiro on the other hand hadn’t told him anything. Lance only knew that he was scheduled to officially record _Eternal Snow_ the same day Keith would be doing his version of it. Lance didn’t know when the music recording would happen, when he’d be allowed in the studio to practice, anything. He knew he should trust Shiro, but he wanted to at least know.

“Are you worried that badly?” Pidge asked. Lance shrugged. “Wouldn’t Akira tell you that you shouldn’t? wouldn’t he say something that’s something along the lines of if they know you care, they’ll come to you?”

“He would say that wouldn’t he?” Lance got up and went over to one of the shelves he had and pulled the book on astronomy and opened it, picking up the photo. “I feel like I’ve been pushing him to the back of my mind.”

“You’ve been busy. I’m sure he won’t see it as a huge issue.” Pidge said.

Lance frowned at that. He didn’t want to push Akira to the back of his mind. He was doing this to see Akira again, so shouldn’t that matter? His phone started to ring, and Lance shut the photo back in the book, putting it back before taking the ringing phone from Pidge.

“Hello?”

_“Lance, it’s me.”_

The 17 year old teen drooped a bit. “Oh, hi Allura.”

_“I’ll pretend not to feel insulted. I just wanted to let you know that Shiro wants you at the studio tomorrow. You might get a chance to practise Eternal Snow.”_

“Really? When?”

_“After your interview tomorrow, so go to sleep early so you can have energy to do the song. I hope I can actually drag the rest of his plans out of him. It’s like he never wants to be around me.”_

Lance decided to not answer that. He wasn’t touching that, not when he was sure he knew the answer to that. “What time are you coming to pick me up?”

_“Interview is at 9 so be up early ok? With school’s starting back, I don’t want to be stuck in traffic.”_

“Right, I forgot schools are starting up again. Explains why Plaxum hasn’t been messaging back as much.”

_“You should make a day to hang out with them. You’ll be busy with this song.”_

“Yeah.” He said, though as much as he loved Plaxum and the others, he really wanted to talk to Keith.

* * *

 

Keith tried not to focus on Kosmo’s eyes on him. The wolf had been following him around since Keith broke down. Part of him wanted to only see his mother in him so he wouldn’t feel guilty about ignoring him, but he couldn’t. Kosmo was still that same puppy that had been his, just a bit bigger. Snap even got used to him, the red longhair sniffing at Kosmo, hissing at him to let him know she was in charge. It was weird to see Kosmo, who was at least the height of his waist, bow down to a cat who was the size of a jug of juice, but then again, Snap took shit from no one.

“Hey boy,” Keith kneeled down and took Kosmo’s face in his hands, his fingers curling around his fur. “I have to go. I’m sorry I keep ignoring you, but I keep thinking about my mom.” Kosmo’s ears drooped as he whined. “I know. She’s the one I’m upset with, I shouldn’t take it out on you.” Kosmo pressed his head more into Keith’s hands as his fingers started to slowly scratch the sides of his face. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise. You’re not the only one I need to apologize to.”

He’d been ignoring Lance’s calls. At the time, he hadn’t cared, he was still burning with anger from what his mother had told him. Thace knew he wouldn’t get an answer, so he only called and left a voice message. Lance had constantly been calling and messaging him, hoping to get some sort of answer. He could call him back now, but he wanted to talk to him in person.

Keith wrapped his arms around Kosmo’s neck, feeling the wolf press his cold nose press near his ear. “I’m a mess.” Kosmo huffed in his ear. He wasn’t sure if Kosmo was disagreeing with him, but he felt like he didn’t deserve it. Things were falling apart, and he didn’t know how to stop them. His phone buzzed, and he picked it up to see it was Thace texting him to come downstairs. He sighed again, giving Kosmo a firm pat on the head. “Your food is out, and you chew on anything I told you not to chew on, you’re in big trouble mister. I’ll be back later. Come on Snap.”

The British Longhair jumped down from her perch and came over to her owner, giving Kosmo a side glance before jumping onto Keith’s shoulders, staying stable as he got up and grabbed his bag and keys, pulling his face mask out of his pocket as he left the house.

Thace was waiting out front in his car, quiet as Keith opened the door and climbed in. He waited until Snap was on Keith’s lap and his godson was buckled in before speaking.

“How are things?” he asked carefully.

“Ask me when I can figure things out.” Keith said, slumping in his seat. He stayed silent as Thace pulled back onto the road and started the ride to the radio station. “She doesn’t remember.” Keith said.

“Krolia? What doesn’t she remember?”

“ _Eternal Snow._ My dad told me that he proposed to my mom when he heard the song. I grew up to him singing it around the house.”

“I remember that. He said it was his favourite song. Even out of all the CDs he had of the Paladins, he loved that song. It was almost impressive how well he remembered the lyrics.” Thace reminisced. “are you saying Krolia doesn’t remember that?”

“’I look forward to hearing your version. I’m sure it’ll be amazing.’ That’s what she said. I spelled it out for her and she still didn’t remember anything. I guess I never meant anything to her.”

“Keith.” Thace started but Keith interrupted him.

“Don’t try and tell me that she does love me. If she remembered at least thing about the song and dad, then maybe I’d believe you. She’s half the reason I wanted to do _Eternal Snow_ , to share how safe I felt listening to that song. Now I don’t know about that anymore.”

Thace was silent for a moment. “Kolivan wants you to record _Eternal Snow_ today.”

“He knows me well enough to hear my heart won’t be in it. I’ll talk to him about when we get to the studio. I’m more focused on seeing Lance.”

“Keith,” Thace started, “do you like Lance?”

Keith was silent. Another thing he didn’t want to think about. “I heard that he has someone he likes who promised to find him. He seems really certain about it. Can we not talk about this anymore, please?”

The rest of the ride was silent. Snap seemed to be able to tell her owner wasn’t feeling the best, as she nuzzled close to him and purred away on his lap. Keith stayed quite as they reached the radio station and they took the elevator up to the correct floor. Keith spotted Lance right away, his white hair pulled into a high bun, looking put out as he stared at his phone.

“Isamu!” Keith called, making Lance look away from his phone and jump out of his seat. Keith noticed that Lance had Hunk, the yellow lion he’d met the first time they had lunch and a green one in his arms.

“Where have you been? I’ve been trying to call you, but no answer and you haven’t been answering your texts and I had a feeling something was wrong and, where were you?!”

“Calm down, I’m ok.” Keith said, trying to make Lance take a breath. “Something happened. I can explain it after you’ve calm down though.”

Lance pouted but nodded anyway. “Is everything ok though?”

“Not exactly. But I’ll explain that later. I want you to meet someone anyway. Lance, this is-”

“Snap!” Lance said, lifting his hand so she could sniff it, pushing her head under his hand.

Keith blinked. Snap took a while to get used to people. The only other person Keith had seen her get close to so quickly was Lance, the fan Lance, the one who had cancer and helped him realise he needed to talk to his Lance. But Snap was letting herself be scratched like she knew him.

“What’s she doing here?”

“Um, she has a vet appointment after and we wouldn’t have had time to go back and get her, so we just brought her with us. How…she likes you.”

“Ok?” Lance asked confused, scratching under Snap’s chin.

“She’s never liked anyone that quickly. It’s just weird.

Lance smiled, sure that Snap recognised his scent from when he’d first met her. But he’d just let Keith think that his cat liked him better.

“So, who’s the green one?” Keith asked, nodding to the plushes in Lance’s arm.

“Oh, Pidge. I had these guys with me when I auditioned. I try not to ever leave the house without them.”

“Right, you had them with you when we did the pool side performance right?” Keith asked, seeming to remember them sitting on Lance’s lap.

“Yep.”

“Excuse me, are Isamu, Prince of Altea and Red ready?” a technician called.

“Yes!” both singers answered.

“Please come down so you can be briefed please.”

“You promise you’ll tell me what happened when this is over?” Lance asked.

Keith nodded. He owed Lance an explanation.

“Welcome everyone! This is Nadia and welcome to Star Centre! Today we the two battlers of the _Eternal Snow_ cover, please welcome Isamu, Prince of Altea and the Galran Assassin of Music, Red! And we also have the cutest co-host with us. You’ve seen her all over Red’s Instagram, we have his cat Snap, who is currently trying to play with the slider, no kitty!”

Keith grabbed Snap and pulled her into her lap, letting her put her front paws on the table, Lance going to scratch under her chin.

“Thank you for having us both.” Lance said.

“Of course. Now, I hear that you guys both have planned to record _Eternal Snow_ on the same day.”

“We do. I still have the rest of my album to do, so I’m hoping that _Eternal Snow_ will be the last one, so it could be like a day of celebration for the both of us.” Keith said

“Oh yeah, I forgot the two of you are really good friends.” Nadia said, “any stories we haven’t ever heard?”

“Um, we’ve got a few. I can be really bossy when I want.” Lance said.

“That’s completely true.” Keith said.

“Shut up. I recently moved to a new apartment and I saw this picture of this curtain installation, so I got him to help me.”

“Correction, he ordered me around as I hung up the curtain rod and put the string lights up.”

“You offered to help. You can’t complain.” Lance said, Keith glaring at him.

“That’s not the point!”

“This is probably about as good as we’re going to get it in battling it out for _Eternal Snow_ isn’t it?” Nadia asked.

“This one offered to pull it off his album when he heard I wanted to do it. I had to threaten him not to.” Lance confessed.

“Really?”

“He’s annoyingly good at getting what he wants.” Keith said.

“Which is why _Eternal Snow_ is staying on the album. Your welcome everyone.” Lance replied smugly.

“Don’t act the fanboy in you isn’t dying to hear me sing it.” Keith teased.

“No more than the fanboy you acted like when you meet Shiro for the first time.” Lance shot back.

Interrupting the two singers, Nadia asked, “speaking of which, your producer being the Black Paladin Champion, Takashi Shirogane? How is that?”

“Nerve wracking a bit because I’ve only dealt with Kolivan so when he asked me what I wanted, I was a bit lost but then I remembered something that I always wanted to achieve with a song and it felt so important to do it with this song. Unfortunately, I haven’t been given a ton of information about what we’re doing and when and I feel a bit lost.” Lance explained

“What do you want to do with your version of the song?” Keith asked.

“I want to be able to send this warm feeling I felt when I first heard this song, even to those who don’t like music.” Lance explained.

Keith nodded, “Well look at it like this, the Black Paladin came out of retirement to help _you_ , sing this song. I think he knows what he’s doing, and he’ll make your cover amazing. You just have to have trust in him. When all else fails, just trust your producer. Usually they want you to do well and that’s what matters.”

“Hear that everyone? Offering advice to their opponents. I don’t think you’re going to get a bloody battle from this.” Nadia said.

“Well we do plan on having our covers be completely different from each other, so if you want to battle over which version is better, than have at it I guess.” Keith suggested.

“Just don’t take it too far, please, we’re begging you guys.” Lance begged.

The interview continued in that fashion for a while before they eventually finished. While Allura and Thace talked with Nadia, Lance pushed Keith to a corner and demanded an answer for why he’d been avoiding him.

“Let me get this straight, your mom came back from her mission and came to your house wanting to talk?”

Keith nodded. “I wasn’t ready, I knew I’d blow up easily because of how I felt, and I wanted to have a calm conversation with her, not explode like I did. But she was there, and I got mad. When she was leaving she congratulated me for the upcoming album and I had to know. Did she remember what it meant, how my dad would always sing it? Nothing, not a thing. Not even when I practically spelt it out for her. It just pisses me off so much that, uggg!” Keith slammed his hands into the wall he was leaning against, his skin starting to turn purple, making the mark on his cheek stand out more. “I thought she cared about me, but it’s obvious she doesn’t. She’s only doing this because she doesn’t want to feel guilty anymore.”

“Keith…” Lance didn’t know what to say. What could he say?

Keith shook his head, trying to calm down even though his skin was getting more purple. “Whatever, I don’t care anymore. I just don’t know if I’ll have the same emotion when singing _Eternal Snow_ now.”

“Are you going to give it up?” Lance asked, sounding almost hurt. He didn’t want Keith to give it up. He had a good reason for wanting to do the song.

“I don’t know. I really don’t know.”

“Isamu.” Allura came over, “we have to head over to the studio now.”

“Right. Listen to me, call me next time ok? I want to make sure you’re ok and I want to be there to help.” Lance told Keith, who nodded.

“Thanks Lance.” Keith said pulling the white haired singer into a hug. He waved as Lance left with Allura and Thace came over to him, Snap sitting up high on his shoulders.

“That went well. Though there did seem to be a lot of attention on Isamu and his producer.”

“Can you blame them? He came out of retirement for Isamu. I’d be more interested in him.” Keith said, picking up his bag.

“You mean more than usual.” Thace said, Keith glaring at him

“Excuse me, do you have a moment?” Keith looked over to see a Galra approaching them. He was short and had similar purple ears to what Keith had and the same strip of purple on the top of his head like Thace did.

Thace got in front of Keith. “Hold it, I already said I didn’t want overzealous fans interviewing Red and I certainly don’t want you.”

“Who is this?”

“His name is Prorok and he’s a bastard reporter who loves to create scandals.” Thace explained.

“That’s so rude.”

“And the fucking truth. Come on Red, we’re leaving.”

Keith caught Snap as she jumped into his arms and followed Thace, feeling Prorok stick something in his pocket as he passed him. It was a business card.

“If you have any info on anyone, feel free to give me a call.”

Keith crumpled the card in his hand, “why would I want to sink to the level of spineless journalist like you?”

“Aren’t we both Galra?”

“I might be Galra but I’m nothing like you or the people at Empire.” Keith threw the card to the side and caught up with Thace, seeing Prorok glaring at him as he got onto the elevator. He wasn’t about to be scared by a Galra who had nothing better to do.

* * *

 

_**Hold me tight  Konna omoi nara** _   
_**Dareka wo suki ni naru kimochi** _   
_**Shiritaku  Nakatta yo** _   
_**I love you  Mune ni komiageru** _   
_**Fuyuzora ni sakebitai** _   
_**Ima sugu kimi ni  Aitai yo** _

Kolivan wanted him to practice Eternal Snow, and Keith could already tell, not even looking at Kolivan, that it was not a good run. He wasn’t feeling the same feelings he had when he first practised the song without music.

“What was that?” Kolivan asked from the other side of the glass.

“A horrible run, I know. I told you I didn’t have it in me to sing this.” Keith said.

“Kolivan, he knows what he’s talking about. It might benefit him to work on another song.” Thace suggested.

“Does this have anything to do with that phone call?” Kolivan asked them both.

“Yes. I don’t know if I’ll have it in me to even do _Eternal Snow_ when the time comes.” Keith explained.

Kolivan took a huge sigh. “I hope that’s not true. But ok, let’s get something done today. The music for _Thirsty_ is ready and you’ve practised with that.”

“But I thought we were recording that when we did _Tornado_.” Keith said.

“Well today was set for practising _Eternal Snow_ but we’ll have to put that on the backburner for now.” He told the sound enginer to load up to music. “what do you want to say in this song?”

Before he even knew about Akira, Keith had written it for Lance. While it still hurt to think about, Keith wasn’t about to deny his feelings for Lance, despite trying to get them to go away so he wouldn’t force Lance into an akaward position.

“Basicly, the person I want, I’m thirsty for their love always, that being around them is addicting enough for me to never stop wanting.” After the revelation at Lance’s concert, it was like a switch hit. He hid the deepest desiers and fantasies from Lance obviously but when he decided to write it song form, he didn’t expect this. He wanted to let the feeling out though.

“Is this for someone?” Kolivan asked.

“No.”

“Yes.” Thace answered at the same time.

Kolivan looked at them both and shook his head. “Do you have the lyrics?”

“Yes sir.” Keith said, as he switched the sheet music in front of him.

“Alright, we starting, we’re going straight through.”

Keith decided to focus on Lance, just Lance when singing as the music started.

**_Thirsty  
galjeungi na _ **

**_Ah_ **   
**_han mogeumman ni ibeul humcheobogopeun_ **   
**_nan mogi ta_ **   
**_sumsorineun gallajigo_ **   
**_shimjangsorin gappajigo_ **   
**_I know, you know, we know_ **   
**_baraman bogien_ **   
**_nae nune tteun neoran dari areumdaweo_ **

**_Ready, set it off_ **   
**_jamgin moksoriro nae ireumeul bulleojweo_ **   
**_bamiraneun aekja sok geurim gateun neowa na_ **   
**_museun mari piryohae Tonight, come in here_ **

**_bimilseureopge neoreul naege ttarajweo_ **   
**_(Fill it up more, fill it up more)_ **   
**_neoro chaeweojigo shipeo_ **

**_ni ape seomyeon nan mogi mallawa Yeah_ **   
**_on momi tteollyeo nan sumi taolla_ **   
**_neol baraman bogien_ **   
**_Thirsty oh yeah, so thirsty_ **   
**_nan jogeumdo neol chameul su eopseo_ **   
**_You make me thirsty_ **

**_shiganman Tic tac toc_ **   
**_mak shijakdwen i bamen_ **   
**_geupal ge eopttan geol aljiman_ **   
**_buranhae mweongae mak jjotgi deut ttami na_ **   
**_chameulseongeul ireoga iseongeul mot charyeo_ **   
**_nan Oh god nal yongseohaejweo_ **

**_shwipjimaneun anchiman shilchimando anchana_ **   
**_jjalbeun kkumigetjiman_ **   
**_Good night, come in here_ **

**_bimilseureopge neoreul naege ttarajweo_ **   
**_(Fill it up more, fill it up more)_ **   
**_Oh neoro chaeweojigo shipeo_ **

**_ni ape seomyeon nan mogi mallawa Yeah_ **   
**_on momi tteollyeo nan sumi taolla Ah_ **   
**_neol baraman bogien_ **   
**_Thirsty oh yeah, so thirsty_ **   
**_nan jogeumdo neol chameul su eopseo_ **   
**_You make me thirsty_ **

**_amuri neomcheodo mojara_ **   
**_ajik ni sarange mongmalla_ **   
**_Oh dan han mogeumman deo_ **   
**_Baby you know what I want_ **

**_teong bin samak gateun nae mam wiro_ **   
**_neoran bireul naeryeojweo Oh girl_ **   
**_neoreul naeryeojweo (Thirsty thir-thirsty)_ **   
**_neoreul naeryeojweo (Thirsty thir-thirsty)_ **

**_ni ape mongmallahaneun nareul bwa Yeah_ **   
**_tteugeopge taollabeorin nareul bwa Ah_ **   
**_neol baraman bogien_ **   
**_Thirsty oh yeah, so thirsty_ **   
**_nan jogeumdo neol chameul su eopseo_ **   
**_You make me thirsty_ **

**_Thirsty  
You make me thirsty_ **

**_Thirsty_ **

“That’s better! That’s what I wanted to hear.” Kolivan said.

“I’m surprised he did it so well. I know who he did the song for and I thought after we talked this morning, this song would be in the same boat as _Eternal Snow_. I’m glad to see I was wrong. Of course, that means _Eternal Snow_ is going to be a whole other issue.” Thace said.

“It’s really that bad?”

“It’s that bad.”

Kolivan sighed. Keith knew his issues with the song so he was going to trust him with knowing if he was ready. “Red, let’s do it over again. I’ll come in so I can show you where to improve at.”

While Keith was getting work done, even with all the issues he was having, Lance was having the opposite day. Shiro had wanted actual musicians doing each part as opposed to working everything on the computer so Lance had spent the good part of time he was at the studio listening to the music for his song come to life, which was pretty exciting. However, Lance hadn’t even been inside the recording studio.

“Takashi.” Allura started.

“Please don’t call me that.” Shiro interrupted. Lance wasn’t sure if Shiro felt comfortable with his first name being used or it was another instance of pushing Allura away. Lance really hoped that they could actually get along, well, that Shiro could actually be nice to Allura.

Allura didn’t seem to notice though. “Sorry, Shiro. Don’t you think it’s time to let Isamu sing?”

“Nope.” Shiro replied.

“But why not? Red’s plans are moving ahead. I hear he’s actually been recording.”

“Red is doing an album so his plans and schedules are none of my concern.” Shiro pointed out.

“Ok fine, but what about the staff then? We worked hard to rearrange the schedule so we could do what you wanted, but Isamu hasn’t even been in the recording studio yet. If he can’t practise the song, how is he gonna know what to improve on when the real day of recording gets here?”

“Don’t worry, leave it to me. You should have more trust in me.” Shiro said as his phone rang and he got up to answer it.

“Lance, don’t you want to sing?” Allura asked, sounding frustrated.

“I do. I’m wondering if it will be good. But I also have to remember that Keith told me that I have to trust my producer if nothing else.” Lance said.

Allura let out a huff. “Well at least he can get answers out of his producer.”

“You’d think she’s the one releasing the song.” Hunk whispered from Lance’s lap.

“She might be right. Keith might be at a better place with the song.” Lance said.

Lance was wrong though. Keith spent his time in the studio officially recording _Thirsty_ and practising every other song except _Eternal Snow_.

“Do you still want to do _Eternal Snow_?” Kolivan asked. Keith nodded. “I sent you the music for your version. I want you to listen to it. I don’t know what happened but I want you to try and find the meaning in this song again. Don’t let whatever it is stop you from doing this song.”

“Ok.”

“I’ll push this back to when you wanted to record on the same day as Isamu so you’ve got until the end of the week. _Tornado_ will be tomorrow and day before _Eternal Snow,_ will be _Enamel_. think you can try and refined your message with this song?”

“I’ll try.” The only thing he could think of doing for that was talking to his mom and he didn’t know if he was ready to face her right now.

It was the one thing on his mind as he got home, Kosmo phasing over to him in greeting. He dropped his stuff on the floor and slid down until he was sitting in the genkan, banging his head against the door. Kosmo whimpered at the sight of Keith and his owner rubbed at his ear.

“I’m ok. I think. You’ve been with her for so long. Do you think it’s even worth talking to her again and get an answer?” Kosmo blinked at him before moving closer and flopping himself on Keith’s lap, pinning him to the floor. “That’s not really an answer, but thanks anyway.” Snap appeared and decided to make herself comfortable curled up next to Keith, using one of Kosmo’s paws as a pillow. “Thanks, you two, such a big help.” He said sarcastically as he petted them. He was at a loss of what to even do. Kolivan said find a new meaning but the only meaning he wanted to give was the one he had associated with the song. But it was lost.

He pulled his phone out and ordered it to play the music for his cover. He let the song play as he tried to think of a new meaning, but he kept drifting to the memories of seeing his dad sing the song to his mom, seeing her so happy and safe. How could he even think of another meaning to the song? He let his head slam into the door, feeling tears sting his eyes. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

* * *

 

“Is he not answering again?” Hunk asked.

“No.” Lance pouted as he ended another attempt of calling Keith. He wanted to talk to him, tell him about how Shiro wasn’t letting him sing and wanting to know more about the situation with his mom. But Keith wasn’t answering. “Ugg. I told him to answer his phone!” Lance whined, dropping his phone and shoving his face into the bed.

“Maybe he’s busy?” Hunk offered, not sure of how to make Lance feel better.

Lance turned on his side and his hand went to the necklace Keith had given him. He kept his promise and didn’t take it off except for when he was taking a shower. How could Keith not be open to Lance wanting to help him when that’s all Keith did for him?

“It’ll be ok. He might still be busy.” Hunk suggested.

“But he said he’d answer!” Lance whined, kicking his legs behind him.

“You’re acting like he’s your boyfriend who won’t answer your calls.” Hunk said.

“It’s not like that!” Lance said. “Will you and Pidge stop saying that?”

“We will when it stops seeming to be true.” Hunk muttered, seeing Lance still glaring at him. “Sorry, but I stand by my case.”

Lance groaned, flopping back on his front. “You’re no help.”

Just then, Lance’s phone started to ring. He picked it up immediately and answered. “Hello?”

“This is Isamu, Prince of Altea correct?”

“May I ask who’s calling?”

“This is Mr. Seas. I work at Altea Records. Your producer, Takashi Shirogane wanted you to meet him at Eiffel Leaves, the restaurant.”

“Wait, why does he want me to meet him there?”

“He had something to tell you and it seems like his phone has died. Should I give you the address?”

“Um, sure?” Lance listened to the address, keeping it in his memory so he could put it in his phone’s GPS.

“What’s up?” Hunk asked

“Shiro wants to see me. Which I s weird, because he always calls me. His phone almost never dies.”

“Maybe he wants to tell you you can sing.” Hunk suggested.

Lance wasn’t sure but he decided to go for it anyway. He got changed and ordered an Uber to the restaurant. He was still unsure even after he got a text from Shiro telling him he was parking and would meet him at a table. The restaurant was a bit fancy, the wait staff dressed in high regard. He knew that the host recognised the singer in front of him but was kind enough to just direct him to where Shiro was sitting.

“Lance.” Shiro greeted. “What did you need to see me about?”

Lance felt even more confused. There had been a thing in his stomach that made him nervous and it was growing. “You called me. Well, you got someone at Altea to call me. They said your phone died.”

Shiro shook his head, “My phone hasn’t died.” Out of his blazer pocket, he pulled out his cell phone, plugged into a battery pack. “I have my battery back on me at all times, you know this. I was called that you needed to see me from someone at Altea.”

“Who was it?”

“Said his name was Mr. Seas.”

A sudden flash, caught both people’s attention. Shiro and Lance turned to see a Galran male in the bushes, right next to the window of their table. He gave them a cruel smile before disappearing out of the bushes and disappeared.

“Who was that?” Lance asked.

“A problem. Lance, I need you to listen to me because what just happened might cause problems if you don’t know how to deal with this.”

“Was that paparazzi? Did they set us up?”

Shiro gave Lance a knowing look. “I think you know the answer to that. Sit down, I need to call Allura.”

Lance watched Shiro call his manager but got no answer. “if she doesn’t know what’s going on, what are we going to do?”

“I need you to listen to me ok? The Paladins were always at the forefront of the media because of our popularity so we knew how to deal with lies and scandals.”

“What, do you think they’ll paint us as dating?” Lance asked.

“Perhaps. This happens a lot with younger artists. Most of the times it’s taken out of context and an accident. Neither of us are at fault and if we ignore and don’t respond to the rumours, it’ll be forgotten. It doesn’t mean people won’t try and poke and prod, hopping to get a response out of you. I know it’ll be hard but you’ll have to put up with it.” Shiro explained.

“I mean, after I came back when I took that sudden break, there were a ton of rumours going around.” Lance told Shiro.

“How did that go?”

“It was a bit upsetting that all these lies were being spread but I knew I had keep my head up.”

“And that’s what you’re going to have to do here. Think you can do that?” Shiro asked.

Lance nodded. “I can try my best.”

“That’s all I ask. Come on, I’ll drive you home.”

* * *

 

Keith wanted to scoff at the article he was reading in the newspaper.

“Could Altean singer royalty be dating his producer? Where did the expensive necklace around his neck come from? Me, it came from me. I can’t believe people are actually going to believe this.”

They did, as much as few people had answers to dismiss the claims. Allura had been surprised when she turned the TV on at Hira’s house to see the report. Hira had demanded an explanation.

“I’m telling you, Shiro wouldn’t date him.”

“And why not? What proof do you have?” Hira wanted to know.

“Well for one, that necklace Isamu has was given to him by Red, not Shiro. He’s had it since his birthday. For another, Shiro knows Isamu through his family. Trust me, he’s not interested. In case you don’t remember, Shiro is his contact on file for emergencies.” Allura explained.

“That had better be the truth. I have to now play damage control. Also, do you even think he can do this song because I hear he hasn’t even gotten Isamu in the studio to practise the song. I had better hear some good news soon.”

“You will, I promise. He won’t let you down.”

_‘I hope.’_

Lance knew what he knew and knew he had to keep his head up. But first, he had something he needed to do.

_“Hello?”_

“Finally! I’ve been calling you ages! I thought you said you’d pick up when I called, what happened?”

Keith sighed over the phone. _“Sorry. When I got home I just…I don’t know if I can do Eternal Snow anymore.”_

“What? What’s wrong? Why?”

_“You know what you want to bring to this song right? You know that this song is a way to remember your parents and all the memories you have of them, right?”_

“Yeah. Did what your mom say, change how you feel when you listen to the song?”

_“I guess. I did a run through and there was no emotion, no feeling. I knew it was going to be like that and I was right. Kolivan told me to listen to the music through and try and find a new meaning but every time I listen to the music, all I can remember is all the memories I have attached to the song. I hate feeling like this but nothing ever changes when I listen to the song.”_

Lance was silent, trying to think of how to help Keith. He pushed Keith not to pull the song before, he wasn’t going to let him do it not now. “Do you…do you think you can confront her? Like maybe get answers? Maybe if you do that, you can move past the memories you have attached to the song and then can find a new meaning to it.”

_“I don’t know if I have it in me to face her.”_ Keith confessed.

Lance heard the heartache in Keith’s voice. He hated knowing Keith was feeling like this. “I’ll come with you, if you want.”

_“Don’t you have practise?”_

“Shiro hasn’t let me sing. I’ve been practising acapella but that’s about it.”

_“Seriously?”_

“The only thing that hasn’t gotten me to complain is that you told me to trust my producer. It’s getting a bit hard not to though.”

_“If anyone can push through, I know it can be you.”_ Keith said confidently. _“Lance, were you serious about coming with me?”_

“Of course, I was. I told you I want to help. You’ve done that for me multiple times. It’s the least I can do for you.”

_“I guess. If you’re free, I’m recording my duet now and once Kolivan says we’re good, I can come get you.”_

“I’m at the studio ‘waiting’ for Shiro to call me in. I’ve only really gotten the chance to meet the musicians who did the melody for my cover.” Lance said, waving to one of the percussion players who was leaving. “They’re nice but still.”

_“Looks like I have to come rescue you again. I’m being called in now to do my part so I’ll call you when I’m done.”_

“Ok.” Lance replied, hanging up. He knew Keith had to be going through a lot and he only hoped he could help. It would be more useful than him sitting here doing nothing. “Wait, no. Come on Lance. Trust your producer. Shiro knows what this means to you and he knows what he’s doing. If I can get through people calling me things because they think I’m with Shiro, I can do this.”

But god it was hard. Lance was pouting down in the lobby as he waited for Keith to come get him. He could hear a few whispers of those who didn’t know the truth about Lance and Shiro. He knew if he left the building, it would be worse.

“I think I saw Sven around.” Pidge said, sitting on the top of the couch. Lance couldn’t look up at her without looking weird for looking at an empty space.

“Should I get my blaster cannon ready?” Hunk asked.

Lance really wanted to give Hunk a look for that, but he had to restrain himself.

“Let’s not bring out the heavy artillery out yet. I don’t know why he’s still hanging around. He knows I’m not going back to the Underworld. He knows that if he tried anything he’ll have us both to deal with. What’s keeping him here?”

That’s what Lance wanted to know. He also wanted to know when he’d be able to meet this guy. He had caused them issues before and he was making Pidge and Hunk feel on edge and Lance needed to see if he was worth it.

“Let’s forget him for now. We have better things to worry about and honestly if I have to think about him right now, I’m gonna go insane.”

Lance’s phone buzzed as Keith texted him that he was outside. “Glad you’re putting that aside for now, because now I have to help Keith.” He said, texting Keith to let him know to go to Altea’s underground parking so he could meet him there.

“I hope you can help him. It sounds like he’s in a bit of trouble.” Hunk said, following Lance to the elevator.

“Trouble is one word for it.” Lance said, getting into the elevator and letting the murmurs of all the gossipers silence. “I don’t know how I can help him other than offering a shoulder to lean on. This is an issue with his mom. I never knew my mom, my foster mother was pretty great and I could barely stand up to my grandmother. All I know is that Keith has these memories of _Eternal Snow_ that she doesn’t remember and it’s killing him that she doesn’t. What can you say to that?”

“What a bitch?” Pidge suggested.

“Pidge.” Hunk said, his tone scolding.

“What? If it means so much to him that it’s affecting him this bad, what else can I say?”

“Not that, look Lance. What you’re doing now, this is good. It sounded like he needed support and now he’s got that. What he does after is on him. All you can do is offer support.” Hunk advised.

“Thanks Hunk.” Lance thanked, knowing the Shinigami was right. As of right now, all he could do was offer Keith his support and he would do what he could.

Keith was sitting on his bike in a free space, the wings still out, leaning forward against the dashboard.

“Hey.” Lance greeted.

“Hi. Thanks again for coming with me.” Keith said, pulling out his spare helmet for Lance.

“Of course, I would. You’ve helped me so much and I want to do the same for you.” Lance said, putting his free hand on Keith’s arm.

“You don’t have to.”

“Are we really going to do this again? When are you going to learn Keith, you can’t win an argument with me.” Lance said, reminding Keith of their ‘argument’ of when Keith first wanted to pull  _Eternal Snow_ from his album.

Keith gave Lance a smile and put a hand on the hand on his arm. “Guess I don’t learn. Get on.”

Lance put his helmet on and climbed on behind Keith, wrapping his arms around Keith’s waist as he started the bike, the bike hovering as Keith drove them out of the parking lot. Lance watched as Keith hit the same button on the handle that let them talk with their helmets on before he started talking.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. Last time I asked her, she didn’t remember anything.” Keith said.

“What if you tell her what you remember? She has to remember something.” Lance suggested.

“You’d think so. But she didn’t before. What if I go up to her and ask for an explanation but I don’t like what I hear?”

Lance tightened his hold on Keith. “I think that’s something you’d have to accept. I want to say she cares for you, even though you have the evidence to show she might not but we don’t know her story.”

“I wanted to hear her story but, I had gotten so upset the last time.”

“Which you were allowed to be. This time, just try and get the whole story out of her ok?” Lance said, squeezing Keith’s waist.

“Yeah, I guess.”

Keith didn’t talk for the rest of the ride. They went to a more unpopulated area and Keith pulled into a small parking lot, the wings retracting so he could fit into the space. The two pulled their helmets off put didn’t get off the bike.

“Keith?”

“I don’t know if I can do this.” Keith said softly. “What if I hear her tell me she never loved me?”

Lance remembered when he first moved in with his grandmother. She was cold and very mannerly, Lance felt like there was no way she could ever really care for him. When he first collapsed at school though, he remembered how she hounded the doctors for answers and wanting to know about treatments to help him get better. She’d sit by his bedside to make sure he was ok. There were times recently he wondered how much she cared, but he knew there was a small part that did, just from all she did.

“There has to be a part of her that does. Even if it’s small, there has to be. If there isn’t, then that’s her loss. She doesn’t know the amazing type of person you are.” Lance said.

Keith took a deep breath. “I wanna go talk to her alone. Do you think you’d be ok waiting out here?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Ok, then, I’ll be here. If things are going well, just text me. If I don’t hear from you in an hour, I’m going to assume something is wrong.” Lance bargained.

“I’ll be fine. But thanks Lance.” Keith climbed off the bike and handed Lance his helmet. “I’ll be back.” With that, Keith turned and walked over to the building next to the parking lot.

“Do you think he’ll be ok?” Pidge asked.

“I hope so. I really do.” Lance answered.

Keith walked into the building, looking around. Nothing had changed from since he was last here. He remembered walking through these same halls to go home. This used to be home, for him and his dad. When his dad died, Thace took over the lease, not wanting to uproot Keith. Then he found out his mom took control of the lease, paying the rent and renuing it when the time came. The landlord knew of Keith and his dad and never complained about his long staying tenants. Keith knew his mom was here. The address was on her file for locations when on home land. It seemed almost ironic he’d be talking to her here, the same place the memories he had took place, the same ones she didn’t seem to know about. He took the elevator up and took deep breaths to try and centre himself. He needed to go in with a calm mind or else he’d explode like last time.

He reached the door, the sign at the side that said the name of the people living there. His dad had let him write it and there it still stood, his scrappy handwriting standing there proud. The ache of missing his father burned in his chest as he rang the doorbell. He wanted his dad here.

The door opened and his mother looked surprised to see him. She was in a tank top and a pair of leggings, her feet bear. “Keith.”

“Can I come in?”

“Of course.” She held the door open and Keith walked in, toeing his shoes off. Everything looked the same from when he moved out. He’d taken most of the things here to his new place, but he left a few things. Furniture for one, the scratchy knitted blanket his dad had made but almost never used was still hung over of the arms of the sofa, the rings on the table from their glasses still there despite the age. He walked into the middle of the room before facing his mother, who looked unsure of herself.

“Why are you staying here?”

Krolia shrugged, “It’s always been home for me. This is where you and your father were.”

“And you weren’t. You were almost never here.” Keith snapped uncontrollably.

“Not because I wanted to. I was given missions and the people I protected where high list clients, until they said I was done or I was called back, I had to do my job and stay with them.” She explained. “When I did  get to be here with you two, it was amazing. I was with my two favourite boys. Don’t you remember that?”

Of course, he did. He remembered the first time they were in Japan and his mother came home. He clung to her, the second thing that was familiar to him in this new place. He’d look forward to her being there so they could go training and just be together. “I remember. I also remember what dad would tell me about you. How the two of you met, how you would also reject his idea of dates until he finally wore you down, how he knew when he wanted to marry you. The Paladins concert. He told me that when they played _Eternal Snow_ that he had to ask you to marry him then. Do you remember that?”

“I…I know it was at a concert, but I don’t even remember what had been playing when he asked me. I was so surprised.”

Keith took a deep breath. That was a valid point, no excuse to get angry. “Ok, fine. I get that. But what about when dad would sing it in the house? I remember seeing the two of you dancing in this same living room, with him singing that song. I remember watching the two of you and feeling safe and happy, thinking nothing could ever go wrong. Except it did, because you left and dad got sick and you didn’t even come back!”

“I wanted to. I did!”

“You can’t expect me to believe that you would have wanted to protect your client more than coming to comfort your son who was completely confused and lost because his dad was dying and his mom was nowhere to be found!” Keith yelled.

“When they were the prince of a waring country who had assignation notes on him all the time, I can’t leave. No matter how much I wanted to.” Krolia said.

“What about after? You couldn’t try finding me after? Didn’t I matter?”

“Of course, you did. You were the most important thing to me. You still are.”

“I find that so hard to believe when you found out I took the Trails and you still didn’t even try contacting me.” Keith accused. “I bet your mission was more important than what I went through.”

“That’s not true Keith.”

Keith snapped, “That why have you ever care to even message me, call me, send me a letter for fuck’s sake! Anything that would let me know that what I felt when I saw you and dad together wasn’t a lie! But you can’t do that can you? Because you never cared about me.”

“My mission-” Krolia started.

“The fact that your admitting that the mission meant more to you then we did tell me all I need to know. I can’t believe I wasted all that time hoping you’d be proud of me and missing you. I have to go into the studio and fake the feelings I’ve felt listening to _Eternal Snow_ and watching you and dad, something that you can’t even remember. I bet you don’t even remember how he’d sing that song more often when you were around.”

“No, I don’t remember! I’m sorry I don’t but you can’t be mad at me for that.”

“Why not? I’ve stopped myself from being mad at you all this time, why not start now?” Keith said. He pushed past her, pulled on his shoes and stormed out, slamming the door behind him. He was fuming, angry at his mother for not remembering and angry at himself for ever thinking she would. He got back to the bike, where Lance was leaning against it, Keith’s helmet in his hands.

“How did it-” he started before Keith cut him off.

“Bad. I don’t want to talk about it. Just…if I end up not having _Eternal Snow_ on the album, don’t argue with me about it.”

Lance was silent, as Keith took his helmet back and climbed back on the bike. Lance didn’t know what to say. He was sure there was nothing he could say.

* * *

 

“Do you think he’ll show up?” Regris asked. He was a full time member of the Blade of Mamora but did singing in his spare time. He had meet Keith when he came in looking for answers about his mother and kept in contact with him. The two had wanted to do a song together but Empire always said no. now Keith had the chance of doing it. Despite _Tornado_ being recorded already, Regris still wanted to be around to meet Lance and to see Keith record _Eternal Snow._ Granted Keith didn’t even know if he’d be able to do it. “Being wooed by jewellery, never good.”

Keith glared over at Regris, whose face was covered with oversized sunglasses and a face mask with a set of code on it. “If you’re talking about the bow necklace that Isamu wears, you know I got that for him.”

“I know. It’s fun to watch you react. Still though, you think he’ll show up with the rumours going around?”

“Isamu doesn’t scare off that easily.” Keith said.

Not moments later, the door to the lobby opened and Lance came in, Allura following him looking drained.

“Morning.” He greeted.

“Morning. What’s with her?” Keith asked.

“She’s been getting a bit of heat from the owner of Altea Records, but I’ve been promised I get to sing today so I think it’ll get better.” Lance explained.

“I wish I could come watch you. Kolivan is supposed to be calling me in soon.”

“So, you’re recording?” Lance asked, looking excited.

“We’ll see.” Regris cleared his throat, making Keith roll his eyes. “Isamu, this is Regris. Remember how I said I was doing an English song? It’s a duet and he’s the other half.”

“Pleasure to finally meet you.” He said, shaking Lance’s hand. “That is a pretty necklace.”

Lance’s free hand went to the bow pendant. “Oh. Thanks. Red got it for me for my birthday, though I’m sure you heard something different.”

“Something like that but glad to see they were wrong. Looks like someone has impeccable taste.”

“Thank you.”

“Isamu,” Lance turned to see Shiro. “We’re ready for you. Come on.”

“Red! I need to talk to you.” Kolivan called from one of the conference rooms.

“Guess this is where we part ways for now.” Keith said, getting up off the couch and facing Lance.

“Guess so. Good luck ok?”

“Thanks. I think I’ll need it.” He said with a weak smile. He left Lance staring after him as he went to Kolivan and walked into the conference room. He stood standing as Kolivan sat down, pulling a magazine closer to him. “What’s that?”

“The main magazine that ran the story about Isamu dating his producer. If it wasn’t for the fact that I saw you give him that necklace and that we know the Champion is Isamu’s godfather, I’d almost believe it. Almost. You ever hear the name Prorok?”

Keith took a minute when he remembered the reporter Thace stopped from interviewing him. “That guy? He’s the one who ran the story?”

“Made fake calls to them, saying the other wanted to see the at a restaurant.”

“Thing is, Isamu was trying to call me that night, but I hadn’t answered. Maybe if I did, he wouldn’t have answered that other call and eventually Shiro would have just left the restaurant or called Isamu himself.” Keith confessed.

“Why didn’t you answer?”

Keith let out a frustrated huff. “I was trying what you suggested and trying to find a new meaning, except all I could do was think of all the memories I have with this song already. I tried even finding answers but I didn’t get anything.”

Kolivan stared down at Keith. “I don’t think you can do this.”

“Neither do I but part of me feels like I have to try. That if I do, she wouldn’t have won.” Keith said, feeling tears sting his eyes. He had held back the tears after leaving his mother, but the pressure of wanting to not let what she said get to him, it felt like it was breaking him.

“Keith,” Kolivan said, getting up and putting a hand on Keith’s shaking shoulder. “Sometimes no matter how hard we try, we can’t win. Sometimes the words we’re given hurt as much as we don’t want it to. Sometimes we have give in.” Keith kept his head down, clenching his fists as tears started to escape. “I fully believe you can do this song, but not now. I’m putting a pause on your album until you can tell me truthfully whether or not you can do this.”

“Ok.” Keith answered quietly.

“I’ll send Thace in.” Kolivan said as he left the room.

Keith crouched down, pressing the palms into his eyes, trying his hardest to stop the tears but he could tell they were coming. He heard the door opening and felt hands pulling him up, Keith stumbling into his godfather’s chest, a sob breaking from his mouth.

“It’s ok.” Thace said, rubbing Keith’s back.

“How can it be? I thought she cared but I was so stupid. She abandoned me, she never cared.” Keith spat out, sobs wracking his body. “She never cared.”

Thace could only hold his godson close, trying to keep him together as he broke apart.

Unaware of what Keith was going through, Lance stood in the sound booth, fitting the headphones on, looking over to the table his bag sat, where the music box sat. It was the closest thing he could do to bring his parents to watch him sing their song.

“Isamu?” Shiro asked from the other side of the glass. “How are you feeling?”

“I want to sing so badly, I could burst.” Lance said.

“Alright, then let’s not keeping you waiting any longer. We’re starting.”

_‘This whole time I wasn’t singing, I thought of ways I could give this song, even to people who don’t like music and give them happiness. Watching Keith go through his struggles, I want to even have this song try and help fix what happened between him and his mom. I want it to even try and fix the problems me and grandmother have.’_ Lance thought as the music started.

**_Do you know I fell in love with you,_ **

**_I can’t remember, how long has it been?_ **

**_All I know, is this love within my heart,_ **

**_Waiting for you_ **

****

**_Can’t you see, what you mean to me?_ **

**_How I wish you could read my mind_ **

**_All these feelings, I could never find_ **

**_The right words to explain …_ **

****

**_Like the snow, all my love,_ **

**_Falling down from above_ **

**_In time - in time_ **

**_It piles high, as if to touch the sky_ **

“Shiro,” Allura got up from the couch and stood next to the producer. “Was this your plan, not letting him sing? So, you can hear his strong desire to sing?”

Shiro glanced over at Allura. “You know our lead singer, right? Seb would keep him from singing longer. Eventually he learned and he’d keep himself from going into the studio to do any sort of recording just so he could show everyone how excited he was to sing the song.”

“You had me worried. I’m glad to see that Hira was wrong when she said you didn’t know what you were doing.”

“So glad I have her approval.” Shiro said sarcastically, paying attention to Lance again

**_Hold me tight_ **

**_I wish I’d never known your light_ **

****

**_This can’t be right_ **

**_This can’t be how it’s meant to feel_ **

**_But I can’t turn back time now cause_ **

**_I love you_ **

**_I only wish it wasn’t true_ **

**_I wish I could forget - Wish that we’d never met_ **

**_Inside my heart, I know - Eternal Snow_ **

“Hunk are you ok?” Pidge asked her partner, watching him grab at his head as if it was hurting.

Hunk saw flashes of something in his head but he couldn’t grasp what it was. “I’m fine. Don’t worry. Let’s just listen to Lance ok? He’s been wanting to do this for a long time.”

**_Do you know, you’re still in my dreams?_ **

**_How much longer till you let me sleep?_ **

**_So I stay awake at the window pane_ **

**_My breath fogging the glass_ **

****

**_Can the snow in my heart,_ **

**_Melt away with the pain?_ **

**_One day – One day_ **

**_I pray that it might_ **

**_Just take one candle’s flame_ **

****

**_Hold me tight_ **

**_Until I break -  I hope I might_ **

****

**_Cause then the wind_ **

**_And cold can’t reach me anymore_ **

**_I only wanna feel nothing_ **

**_I miss you_ **

**_When every thought’s a thought of you_ **

**_And I stand here alone, cause tonight is the same_ **

**_Inside my heart, I know - Eternal Snow_ **

****

**_I wonder if, the falling snow_ **

**_Will numb my heart_ **

**_And if with time, could it hide,_ **

**_These lonely nights and all of my love for you?_ **

****

**_Hold me tight_ **

**_I wish I’d never known your light_ **

****

**_This can’t be right_ **

**_This can’t be how it’s meant to feel_ **

**_But I can’t turn back time now cause_ **

**_I love you_ **

**_I only wish it wasn’t true_ **

**_You can’t be here and I -_ **

**_Shout to the winter sky_ **

**_Inside my heart, I know, Eternal Snow_ **

****

**_Hold me tight_ **

**_Ohh I miss you_ **

**_I love you_ **

****

**_And I stand here alone_ **

**_Cause tonight is the same_ **

**_So fall forever_ **

****

**_Oh eternal snow_ **

* * *

 

“Keith what?”

“Left and in tears.  Don’t think I’ve ever seen him like that.” Regris explained to Lance, who’d come looking for Keith.

“But why?”

Regris shrugged. “I’m not sure. He didn’t even record _Eternal Snow_. I also heard that his album is on pause.”

“What!?” Lance yelled. “Why?”

“I don’t know. Keith didn’t say anything before he left. All I know that was that he had been talking to Kolivan and then Kolivan cancelled the recording and told his team the album was on hold. I’d hold off on talking to him for a while if I were you. He really looked like he didn’t want to talk to anyone.” Regris advised.

Lance didn’t want to listen to what Regris said but he remembered what Keith had been through. He guessed he had finally cracked. Lance felt guilty for making Keith go and talk to his mom. He rolled over the idea of never telling Keith to go talk to his mom and what it would have done as Allura drove him home. He’d been so in his own head, he almost missed Pidge yelling at Hunk.

“Your head shouldn’t be hurting. Only time you feel weak at all is near your death day and that passed ages ago.” Pidge was saying as Hunk rubbed at his forehead.

“I’m still a trainee aren’t i? it can’t be that bad.” Hunk said.

“What? Your head is hurting?” Lance asked.

“And it shouldn’t be. Hunk, it’s bad if it is, even as a trainee.”

Unlocking his apartment, Lance asked. “What’s wrong if his head is hurting while he’s a trainee?”

“He could be regaining his memories of when he was a human.” An unfamiliar voice said.

Lance looked over to where he saw a man standing in his living room. He looked like Shiro almost but he didn’t have Asian features. His features looked European and his hair was much longer than Shiro’s. The pair of wolf ears and wings on his back though showed his status as a Shinigami. Floating next to him was only what Lance could describe as a winged green worm with a beak.

“Who the hell are you?” Lance demanded to know.

“Sven!” forgetting about Hunk’s issue, the two Shinigami flew in front of Lance, a green katar and yellow blaster appearing in their hands. “What are you doing here?” Pidge demanded to know.

“Calm down. I’m only here to help.”

“Help who?” Hunk asked, untrusting of the man in front of them.

“Help you.”

“What?”

“I’m here to help you.” Sven said, looking passed the two Shinigami to look at Lance. “I’m here to help you keep your promise to that boy.”


	19. The Prince's new hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter had been written after s7 and I wanted to acknowledge Shiro's cannon invisble illness and his like for guys. I've always headcannoned him as Pan and I know that he apparently gets married to a guy at the end of s8 (I haven't finished but tumblr doesn't exactly hide spoilers) but no has said that he only likes guys so I'm still keeping him as Pan in my mind. If I'm wrong please tell me, though it's gonna make the rest of the story kinda akward if you payed attention to the tags.

“Empire Studios have released a statement about one of their top singers Red, putting his upcoming mini-album on hold due to personal reasons. Some wonder if he decided to pull from the fight with Isamu, Prince of Altea, one of Altea Records rising artist but the head of Empire Records has told us that _Eternal Snow_ will be on the coming album. When it’ll be coming out, we don’t know.”

Lance changed the station in Shiro’s car, looking out the window.

“I take it he hasn’t called back.” Shiro asked as he drove them to the location for Lance’s photo shoot for his album cover

“No.” Was all Lance said, trying to push the guilt down. Feeling guilty wasn’t going to do anything for him. It had been almost 2 weeks since Lance recorded his version of _Eternal Snow_ and Kolivan announced that Keith’s mini-album was being put on hold. 2 weeks since he heard anything from Keith. There was nothing on his social media and Keith was never on LINE. Lance didn’t want to pester and poke but he hadn’t gotten any answer, anything for him to know Keith was ok. He felt like it was his fault. He pushed Keith to talk to his mother and he caused whatever made Keith break down.

“Lance, I can hear you blaming yourself over there. Whatever happened with Keith wasn’t your fault. What he’s going through, he has to go through alone. From what you said, this isn’t something that can be fixed easily. He’ll call when he’s ready.” Shiro could see that wasn’t what Lance wanted to hear. “How’s the issue with, um, your new house guests?”

Lance looked in the backseat where his bag was sitting behind his seat, watching Pidge and Hunk in their plush forms glare at the black wolf plush that sat on the other side with a green scarf around its neck. “It’s weird.”

Lance remembered how they had stared at Sven in complete confusion after he admitted his reason for being in Lance’s apartment.

“What?” Pidge had questioned. “You want to help Lance? The same guy who almost ruined him in the first place?”

“That was you actually, I just helped.” Sven said, ignoring Pidge’s growls. “You tend to keep to the rules Pidge so I was surprised how defensive of him you were. So, I decided to stick around for a while. By all means, I should just take his soul now, not handing it over until his death date but I guess you can say I started to see what kept you breaking the rules. So, I talked it over with the department head who was actually about to send someone to check up on you and told him things are fine but because of your targets new job, you need more eyes on him. So, he said I could stay.”

“Tell me your joking.” Pidge begged.

“I don’t have to stay around here, but I’ll be around. Besides, I still need to get my little tiger back.” Sven said, smiling at Pidge.

“Don’t call me that!” Pidge yelled as she had launched herself at Sven.

Sven grabbed her by the wrist, yanking it up and holding on as Pidge struggled, spitting like a wildcat at him, cursing like a sailor.

Lance stopped Hunk from attacking and stood in front of Sven. “Let her go. You said you didn’t have to be here, so why don’t you just leave?”

“So rude.” Sven said, letting Pidge go, moving out of the way as she tried attacking him.

“Look who’s talking.”

“I’m a Shinigami, I’m supposed to be mean. I committed suicide and this is my punishment so I’m more than able to be as mean as I want.” Sven said.

Lance stared down at the wolf eared Shinigami. He had remembered how Hunk brushed passed the fact he committed suicide but he never once thought his friends were here because they were being punished.

“You’re given a second chance.” Lance told him. “I don’t think your being punished. Your being given a second chance to find happiness.”

Sven stared back at Lance, his eyes wide in surprise, before his lips quirked up. “You’re a strange person Lance Kurogane-McClain.”

Sven had left then, but by the next day, he was back, a silent person in the corner, his partner doing all the talking for him. And my god, was his partner annoying.

“Should I be worried?” Shiro asked.

“Well he’s not going to take my soul so we don’t have that to worry about. Besides, I think Pidge and Hunk have enough anger to attack him if he tries anything.” Lance said.

“That’s not at all concerning.” Shiro said. His phone started ringing from its holder on the dashboard and it started to read the number out. “Why does that number sound familiar?” Shiro asked out loud. Then the ringtone got louder as the phone started to read off Allura’s number. “Guess I’ll have to call that other person back, answer Allura.” He ordered, the phone picking up Allura’s call, putting her on speaker. “Yes Allura?”

_“Just wanted to check where you are. Romelle is here with the Blue Lion.”_

“We’ll be there soon. Do you think Romelle would be able to help Lance with his hair? He’s dressed and made up himself but he didn’t know what they wanted him to do with his hair. Is the photographer there?”

_“Him and his film camera. I never thought I’d see an Olkarian using a film camera.”_

“It’ll show a much purer side of him. We’re almost there. Hang up.” The call ended and Shiro noticed Lance glancing over at him disapprovingly.

“What?”

“Nothing, just wondering how on earth Allura can put up with you being so rude to her all the time.”

“Lance, it’s not like I mean to be rude. Allura acts a bit like an overactive fan with me sometimes and it makes me uncomfortable.” Shiro explained.

Lance raised an eyebrow. “You can’t ask her to stop?”

“I shouldn’t have to. She’s your manager, she should know when to act professional.”

Lance rolled his eyes. Shiro was being ridiculous. “Whatever. Though if you just asked, she would stop.”

Shiro didn’t respond and pulled into the parking lot of the park they were at. It was the only part of Japan that could sustain juniberry flowers so the whole grassland area was covered in them and there was a small fee to get in. The Altean Embassy was protective of their flora, which is where the money went, so it could go back into taking care of them. There was a large cargo truck, with the Altean symbol on the side and Allura’s car parked next to it.

Lance climbed out the car and opened the backseat door near Sven’s side to grab his bag. “You guys coming?”

“Yes please.” Sven answered pleasantly.

“You even think of trying anything.” Pidge started.

“Pidge, will you two come on?” Lance interrupted. “I’d like to get this shoot done.” Pidge glared at Sven as he climbed into Lance’s bag before she and Hunk followed.

Putting the bag on his shoulder, he followed Shiro to the gate, where they paid for their tickets and went to go look for Allura. It wasn’t hard. She had called Romelle to ask if they could by any chance borrow a model of the famous Blue Lion of Voltron. There was a large mecha lion, the blue and silver plating shinning under the sun, sitting on its hunches on top of a hill. Allura and Romelle were speaking in its shadow, the Olkarian photographer snapping a few photos.

“Oh my gosh! Is this the real thing?” Lance asked, running over to the lion.

“No, the real thing is currently at Nalquod. This is a smaller version that’s built the same way.” Romelle explained.

“This is small?” Lance asked in disbelief.

“Compared to the real thing? Yes. Before I forget, I have something else for you.” Romelle picked up a small box near her feet and handed it to Lance, using her now free hands to pull the cover off. “No prince is complete without his crown.”

Sitting in the box was a circlet. The dark metal held a blue gem in the centre, curving out with extra pieces that held smaller gems. It reminded Lance of something he’d see on elves in movies.

“This is beautiful.”

“And yours for the photoshoot. Now come here, I’m thinking an over the shoulder braid. We can sit on the Blue Lion’s paw.” Romelle sad, taking the box back so Lance could climb on the paw.

As he did though, the Blue Lion started to move, startling everyone. The Blue Lion started to lie down, keeping her paw still until her head was next to Lance.

“Um, hi?” Lance said, putting his hand on what would be her cheek. She started to vibrate gently under his hand. “Aww! Guys, she’s purring!”

“Does the Blue Lion usually react this easily?” Allura asked.

“No. I guess Isamu is just lucky.” Romelle said before pulling herself up and standing behind Isamu. She used a brush Lance handed her to brush his long white hair over his shoulder, before she fitted the circlet on his head, the gem sitting perfectly in the middle. She braided his hair in a messy way, looking please with how it matched his blue turtleneck sweater that had shoulder cuts in it, his green hooded canvas jacket and the jean shorts he had on. “All done. I’ll get out of the way now.”

“We’re ready to start if you are.” The photographer said after fitting a new roll of film into their camera. “My name is Logal.”

“Nice to meet you.” Lance greeted, passing Allura his bag, about to climb off when Logal stopped him

“You look perfect up there. Just let me know when you want a break. Feel free to do whatever you want.”

It was different than Riku or one of the photographers from Altea telling him what to do. For the most part, he crawled all over the Blue Lion, listening to her purring before getting off and walking around her, the sounds of the shutter following him.

Romelle nudged Allura, nodding her head to Shiro to which Allura shook hers. She continued to do it until she hip checked Allura into Shiro.

“Oh, sorry. I um, lost my balance.” Allura apologized.

“That’s ok.” Was all Shiro said before looking back over at Lance who was sitting in front of the Blue Lion’s jaw.

“Um, what are you doing after this?”

“Work.” Shiro said.

“Oh. Um, maybe you’d like to go grab lunch before you have to get to work?”

Shiro glanced at Allura, “And what about Isamu? How would he get home? Keith still is AWOL so I’m taking him home before I head off to work.”

“Right, of course.”

Shiro’s phone went off and he pulled it out of his pocket seeing the same number from earlier calling. Knowing that number look familiar, he answered it.

“Hello?”

_“Takashi?”_

“Adam? Oh my gosh, is that really you?”

_“It is. I’m so glad this was the right number. I called the hospital and they told me your working part time now? What the hell?”_

Shiro rubbed the back of his head, his smile growing, “Yeah. It’s a long story. Are you in town?”

_“I’m here for a surgery I’m assisting in but I have time to meet up with you. Are you busy?”_

“Um, I’m with Lance but after I drop him back at home, I should be free. I have to head into the hospital to do some work, but I can put that off for a while.”

_“Call me when your done with whatever and we can meet at our restaurant. It’s still there right?”_ Adam asked, slightly concerned.

“Maybe if you came and visited more often, you’d know the answer to that. But yes, it’s still open. One second.” Shiro pulled the phone away from his ear. “Isamu, can you come over here for a second?”

Lance had been standing under the Blue Lion’s head, running his hand under her chin. He walked over to Shiro and let him put the phone up to his ear.

“Hello?”

_“Lance.”_

Lance brightened up, “Adam! I haven’t heard from you in forever.”

_“I’m in town. When I’m done doing surgery here, we should meet up.”_

“Yeah, totally. I have to go, but I’ll bug Shiro for your number later.” Lance let Shiro take the phone back as he went and took Hunk and Pidge out of the bag, not feeling exactly safe holding Sven close just yet.

_“Sounds like someone is busy.”_ Adam joked.

“Something like that. I’ll call when I’m done.” Shiro hung up, saving the number to his contacts.

“Lance,” Allura whispered, making sure Shiro didn’t hear her. “Who’s Adam?”

“Oh, he was Shiro’s fiancée. They ended it a few years back and he’s been in the states. Sounds like he’s back for a while.”

“Oh.” Allura said, as Lance walked back to the Blue Lion, apologizing for running off. “Of course, he is.”

“Allura?” Romelle asked gently.

“Shiro, I’m going to get everyone drinks. Romelle and I will be right back.” She told Shiro, handing him Lance’s bag before she turned and walked off, Romelle following close by.

“Allura, what is it? What did Isamu tell you?”

“Shiro was engaged. Was mind you and it wouldn’t bother me except you heard him. I asked if he wanted to go get lunch, he said no. He’s going to meet this person after he drops Isamu off at home. I don’t know why I keep holding onto the idea that Shiro will ever like me. He can’t stand me.”

“That’s not true Allura.” Romelle said.

“Please. He barely addresses me by name and always has an excuse when I ask if he’d like to do something. I know he wouldn’t be like he was all that time ago, but I thought he’d, I don’t know. Maybe it’s foolish of me to even think he’d remember the pop singer who told him how much she loved his piano playing.”

Allura stopped walking and pulling out a photo holder. Its age showed the crease in the plastic and the leather fraying. The picture held 4 people, the members of the Paladins and a much younger Allura, back from when she had been an idol. She had looked over the faces of the whole band many times but her eyes always went to Shiro, who had his arm wrapped around her. His long hair was pulled into a ponytail and his smile was pleasant as he smiled at the camera. Allura could still see the nervousness she held in her eyes from when Shiro had his arm around her. He had joked that it was his prosthetic obviously making her nervous, but she had burst out that she didn’t care about that. It was part of him and it could never make her nervous. She was red the whole time after, even after Shiro gently took her hand into his wishing her luck with her songs and thanking her.

“I just thought he might remember me a bit. I mean he’d only gotten back recently with his new prosthetic and I had seen people avoid him because of it. I thought at the very least he would remember that.”

Romelle looked sadly at her friend, wrapping her arms around Allura. “If he can’t see that, he’s an idiot.”

“Yeah, but at least he isn’t tainted.”

“You’re not tainted!” Romelle protested.

Allura looked at her blonde friend. “I’m sleeping with the woman who tried making his life a living hell because she was jealous of the Paladins and the woman who controls Isamu’s future in Altea Records. I’m in love with a man who will never love me and sleeping with a married woman. How am I not tainted?” Allura didn’t wait for an answer as she walked away from Romelle, the photo holder tightening in her hand.

* * *

 

Shiro pulled the door open of the restaurant, greeting the hostess.

“I’m meeting someone. Oh, I see him. Thank you.” Shiro was reminded of when they would meet here back when they were dating and even when they were engaged. Adam knew him well, but there had been a part of Shiro that felt like he couldn’t take the final step. Adam should have been mad at him but he wasn’t. He was understanding and it had been easy to fall back into being friends. He was lucky to have him. “Adam.”

The glassed man looked up from his tablet and smiled at Shiro. He stood up and pulled Shiro into a hug. “It’s been so long. How have you been?”

“Good. It’s so good to see you again. It looks like America has done you well.” Shiro said as they sat down.

“I think so. But before I tell you about that, care to tell me how the hell you got back into music. I mention that idea to you and you completely ignore me. So how did you decided to go back at it for a pop singer?”

“Lance,” Shiro answered, pulling his blazer off and hanging it on the back of his chair, pulling the sleeves of his shirt up. “He knows Isamu and mentioned that I was his godfather so he asked me. I said no at first.”

“So, I wasn’t beaten out by a pop star.” Adam teased, his hand reaching for Shiro’s prosthetic hand. “So, why’d you change your mind?”

“Someone asked me if I had no regrets. Lance wanted Isamu to do this song and begged me. I said no, saying that I was done with music but someone had asked me if I was living with no regrets. I guess…I realised that the pain I felt whenever I had to put myself in front of music _was_ regret. Meeting Lance when he was young all that time ago and hearing how he wanted to be a singer, I thought I could hide myself until then. And then I ended up becoming his doctor after he moved here and I couldn’t escape it. Lance’s grandmother was hurting so much from what music had done to her that she froze out Lance’s dreams. I didn’t want to see him crumble into himself so I supported those dreams, told him about his parents. It hurt but it was good for him so that’s all that mattered. I don’t have a way of curing Lance of his cancer right now, so I wanted to do whatever possible to help him and keeping myself from doing music wasn’t going to help. There’s a reason I perused music and medicine at the same time.”

“I mean that note was left to you for a reason.” Adam said.

Shiro knew what he meant. He had just come back from his rehabilitation with his new arm and he had been unsure if he should continue with music. There had been a note he found in his pocket written on the back of a flyer. It was an old one, back from when the Paladins first performed. It read that he was an inspiration to all those who loved music but wanted to also peruse something different. It mentioned how they were impressed with how Shiro hadn’t given up on either of his passions, his love for them so obvious and how they hopped to find something they could love to do just as much. For some reason though, Shiro always assumed that it had been sent by Mio. She always mentioned how she wished she could find something with the same passion he had.

“I think Mio and Seb would be happy for me about me doing what I wanted for so long.” Shiro said.

“I think they’d be happy for you too.” Adam said, giving Shiro a understanding smile. “I’m happy for you too. You seem, happier I guess.”

“I am. Are you done doing your check up?” Shiro asked, his prosthetic hand tugging at Adam’s fingers.

“Sorry. I can’t help it. I had helped put the quintessence line in here to help with your chronic illness. I want to make sure everything is still fine.”

“It’s still working fine.” Shiro reassured.

“You know how surprised I was to hear you were diagnosed with a degenerative muscle disease. I mean a piano player and a doctor. Not to mention it had apparently started in the arm that got replace with a prosthetic after that attack.”

Shiro remembered how his life had changed all that time ago. The band was coming from a fan signing when they were attacked by a crazed fan. Her sights had been set on Seb, who apparently had been seen on a date with Mio before anyone knew about their relationship. Shiro got in the middle of them, taking a deep slash to the arm. They thought he’d been fine after stiches and a transfusion but then black veins started to appear on his arm and it would become numb. The blade had been poisoned and Shiro had to make a difficult decision. Loose his arm or his life. The prosthetic had been hard to get used to at first but the band wouldn’t let him give up. He was able to play the piano again with their encouragement and he was still able to do his job as his doctor when he was finally able to assist in surgeries when he fully focused on being a doctor. The muscle disease had been a surprise but with a line of quintessence planted in his prosthetic, he never felt the effects of it except on the days it was low and in need of changing.

“But I’m fine and you made sure of that. Now you heard my story. What about you? What have you been up to?” Shiro asked.

Before Adam could answer, a waiter came over, putting down two plates of food in front of them.

“I hope your appetite hasn’t changed since we last saw each other.” Adam said picking up his chopsticks to start his cold soba.

“Well I won’t ever say no to omurice.” Shiro said, picking up the bottle of ketchup. “Now what have you been doing?”

“I’ve been working with a lot of doctors in research on what can be done for those who suffer from quintessence sensitivity. Half the reason I wanted to see you though.” Adam said.

“What do you mean?”

“Have you had any idea to any treatment for Lance without the use of quintessence?” Adam asked.

“You mean other than the surgery that would involve removing his vocal cords? No, I haven’t and trust me. I’ve been trying.” Shiro said taking a disgruntled bit of his omurice.

“What if I told you I’ve been working with a doctor who’s found a way to do a surgery on those with quintessence sensitivity and keep their vocal cords intact?” Adam said, sounding a bit proud of himself.

Shiro felt himself choke a bit on his food as he stared at Adam, his mind almost unable to believe what he just heard. “Wh-what? What did you say?”

Picking up the tablet that had been put to the side, Adam unlocked it and handed it to Shiro, watching him take in the information. “Her name is Dr. Trigel. Her husband had been quintessence sensitive before he passed and she put research into finding a way to help those who are quintessence sensitive who have no choice but to resort to surgeries and medicines that would give them side effects they wouldn’t have if they had a quintessence treatment. She’s been able to rework the surgery done to those with sarcoma. The medical board has looked it over and they thought it would work, so she was allowed to perform it on a participant with sarcoma. It was completely successful and so have the others who have had this new surgery.”

“It removed the tumour completely?” Shiro asked in disbelief.

“And with speech rehab for those who found a bit difficult to start speaking again, these patients got their voices back. I think Lance has a chance of doing the same thing.”

Shiro looked over the information, trying not to burst into shouting. He had to check every side of this surgery to see if Lance could even qualify.

“How can I see if Lance is a good fit for this?” Shiro asked.

“That’s the thing. Dr. Trigel is located in the States, California to be exact. You’d have to bring Lance there to meet with her. Is there any chance you can do that?”

Shiro thought. Lance wasn’t in school anymore and he was an emancipated adult in the eyes of the law because of the Shouto Guardianship Law so he didn’t need the permission of his grandmother, though Shiro was sure that she would have given it a chance after complete convincing. But with Lance’s job as Isamu, if he took off again, it wouldn’t be the best received. But…

“There is an award show coming up. It’s happening before Christmas. There’s a rumour that the person who wins the award for Best New Song would be asked by a recording company in California to do a song with them. The team helping me with Isamu’s cover mentioned that and they’re hoping the cover of _Eternal Snow_ would at least be nominated. If he does win and does get to go to California, I’d have an excuse to take Lance with me.” Shiro thought out loud.

“Do you think he has a chance of even being nominated?” Adam asked.

“Well, his biggest competition, Red, has just put his whole album on hold and I don’t know when he’ll pick it back up. There is of course the rest of the music world in Japan.”

“If you think it’s worth it, I’d try it. Maybe when he starts working on his next song, you can take that time to take Lance to see Dr. Trigal.” Adam suggested.

Shiro looked down at the tablet. This was too big of a chance to not try.

“Takashi?” Shiro looked up, seeing a concerned look on Adam’s face. “I almost forgot about something. Something that has to do with Lance. And Akira.”

“Shit. Shit, I completely forgot.” Shiro said, running his hands through his hair.

“What is he going to do if he goes to California and wants to find Akira?”

“Seeing how his goal is to find him now? Nothing good.” Shiro said.

* * *

 

“So, this Akira person, he’s the reason your helping Lance?” Sven asked Pidge and Hunk as Lance was making dinner.

Hunk nodded, seeing how Pidge wasn’t going to answer. He didn’t trust Sven still but he was being a bit more open with wanting all the help they could get.

“Lance will have regrets of never seeing him again if he died without at least trying. It’s the only thing we can do to stop his soul from becoming a ghost and failing at our mission.” Hunk explained.

“I’m curious as to why he can see us.” Sven wondered.

Hunk shrugged, “We don’t know and we can’t ask the boss because if he finds out Lance can see us, he’d give Lance new Shinigami to look after him.”

“And because it’s your power that allows him to become Isamu, we can’t let that happen.” Sven concluded.

“Yeah.”

Sven sighed, “What a mess you two have gotten yourselves into. I will admit though; his singing is something that should be shared. I almost didn’t believe that it was his real voice.”

“He’s a healthy and successful singer in many realities.” Slav threw in.

“Well we’re going to help him stay healthy and able to share his voice until it’s time for us to take his soul.” Pidge finally spoke, looking like it hurt to admit that. Hunk had the same look on his face.

They had grown attached to Lance. How could they not? Lance called them his first friends and was never scared of them. His intentions were pure and it was hard to not care about him. The thought of being the ones responsible for taking his life away from the world, they didn’t know if they could do it when the time came.

Sven could see that but he wasn’t going to bring it up now. “I have to ask, what happened with that other singer, the one I made the scapegoat?”

“Keith? What about him?” Pidge asked.

“You said that he wouldn’t hurt Lance. So, did they ever fix things?”

“Not that you care, but yes, they did.” Pidge snapped.

Sven looked slightly pleased with himself. “Did the rip in the awning actually work?”

Hunk and Pidge looked confused when Pidge’s face was painted with realization.

“You? You ripped the awning above Lance just when Keith happened to appear next to him? How the hell did you manage that?”

Sven shrugged. “Slav mentioned a possibility of that happening in this reality and I thought I should at least help fix things I caused.”

Pidge scoffed in disbelief. She couldn’t believe Sven was the one to thank for Lance getting the chance to convince Keith to talk to his Lance. “You do realise you could have revealed to Keith that his Lance was that same 16 year old teen he let come to his house.”

“Lance is a smart boy, I know he would have been able to keep his secret and still get what he wanted from Keith. It worked out in the end didn’t it. They’re talking, aren’t they?”

“Well, not really. Not right now at least.” Hunk said. “Lance kinda convinced Keith to go talk to his mom about this issue and I guess it didn’t go as well as Keith hoped because next thing we knew, Keith didn’t record the song we all expected him to, which had to do with the issue with his mom, so Lance feels guilty about that and he hasn’t called in like 2 weeks.”

Sven blinked at Hunk. “What?”

“Let’s just say that Lance is very upset about it.”

Sven groaned. “I went through stalking him so I can get them a moment together and this happens.”

“Well Lance wants to fix it, but he doesn’t know how.” Hunk said.

“I mean, if he wanted to, he could go to Keith’s mom’s place and talk to her himself.” Pidge threw out. She brightened after a second though. “What if that’s exactly that’s what he does?”

“Pidge, we can’t just expect Lance to do that. This is personal between Keith and his mom.” Hunk reprimanded.

“Oh, come on. Keith told Lance what this song means to him with his memory of his parents. Lance was mad for him on his behalf. You can’t tell me Lance wouldn’t try and fight for him.” Pidge said.

“Well, ok maybe. But this isn’t our fight. This is something Keith has to deal with. What if he gets mad at Lance for butting in?” Hunk asked.

“Well, guess we’ll have to find that out ourselves, aren’t we?” Pidge said, getting up and phasing through the balcony door, Hunk calling for her to wait.

“I really hope you’re ready to control her.” Hunk said following Pidge.

“Nice to know she hasn’t completely changed.” Sven said, phasing through with Hunk.

“You want me to what? Pidge, are you insane?” Lance was yelling from the kitchen.

“Oh, come on Lance. He’s your boyfriend, sorry, best friend. He’s hurting and you’re feeling guilty.”

“That doesn’t matter. I don’t know Keith’s mom and I don’t know the whole story of what Keith went through. I can’t just go in there accusing her of stuff she might not have done.” Lance said, looking away from Pidge, though she could see his grip on the cooking chopsticks was tight.

“So, you’re going to just wait for him to call you? Lance, he hasn’t spoken to you in 2 weeks. Isn’t that a cause for concern?”

“Pidge.” Lance said firmly, if not a bit desperately to make her understand. “Keith is my best friend. He’s one of the closest people I have. It’s killing me that he’s not talking to me and I might have been the helping factor for why he’s hurting. I went through this already after the Mermaid Tear Shampoo incident and I thought I wouldn’t get him back but I did. I didn’t want to go through this again but I am. I’m not going to try and do any that’s going to risk being able to talk to him again.”

Pidge looked a bit guilty after hearing Lance’s reasoning. “Ok. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed.”

“It’s ok. It’s just, I can’t talk to Akira. I don’t want to lose Keith too.”

Pidge wanted to comment about how Lance was putting Keith in the same category of the guy Lance would say he was in love with. She didn’t doubt Lance was in love with Akira. She was just sure he was gaining feelings for Keith but he didn’t know it yet.

They were pulled away when some knocked on the door. Turning the heat on low, Lance went and looked through the peephole, unlocking the door when he saw a familiar person on the other side.

“Shiro, hi. What are you doing here?”

Poking his head into Lance’s line of vision from where he’d been hiding behind the wall, Adam said, “We’re here to talk to you.”

“Adam!” Lance exclaimed. He quickly jumped onto Adam, pulling him in a tight hug. He had been through the whole relationship Shiro and Adam had, excited when they had gotten engaged and then hurting when they broke it off. Lance had thought it was because of him, Shiro wanting to focus on his treatment and not enough on Adam but Adam swore to him that it wasn’t like that. He had missed him when Adam he moved but he knew that he’d be close to finding Akira where he was going. “I missed you. Adam, were you able to do what I asked you?”

He didn’t seem to notice the look of sadness and regret in Adam’s eyes. “Um, well…”

“Lance,” Shiro cut in. “There’s something we wanted to talk to you about. It’s about your cancer.”

“What about it? It hasn’t gotten worse when you did my last check-up has it?” Lance asked worried.

“No, but it’s more about the surgery.” Shiro said.

Lance let them in, letting Shiro guide him onto one of the stools by the breakfast bar before taking one for himself, Adam dragging one over so he could sit next to Shiro. Lance felt nervous about whatever Shiro wanted to tell him.

“Ok, Lance, you know that I’ve been doing research on quintessence sensitive patients right?” Adam started. When Lance nodded, he continued, “I’ve been with a doctor named Dr. Trigal. She’s been looking at the treatments that quintessence sensitive patients have to get because of their sensitivity. She’s been looking at cancer patients and Lance. She’s been able to rework the surgery done to remove sarcoma.”

Lance looked at Adam in disbelief, looking over at Shiro, who nodded. “You mean, the one that would have to remove my vocal cords?”

“There are other patients who have their sarcoma in that same place and have gotten this new treatment and they can speak just fine. A few needed speech rehab which was expected but Lance, this could be an option for you.”

Lance couldn’t believe it. He grew up thinking he’d lose the ability to sing just to remove the cancer but here Adam was telling him there was a chance things could be different.

“If I get this surgery, I could sing?”

“Well not immediately after. You’d need to recover first but I do think you would finally be able to live that dream.” Adam said.

Lance let out a disbelieving air. “How, what? What do I have to do?”

“Well like most surgeries, we need to go in and see if you could qualify. Thing is, Dr. Trigal is located in the States. With working with Isamu, I don’t know when I’d have to time to go with you and I don’t feel safe sending you by yourself. Thing is, you know the upcoming award show?” Shiro asked.

“The Galaxy Music Awards?” Lance questioned.

“The team is hoping Isamu’s cover of _Eternal Snow_ would be nominated for Best New Song and there’s a rumour going around, though I was texting the head of Altea Records and she seems confident that it’s true, that the person who wins gets the chance to go to California to work with a record company on a song. If Isamu is nominated and wins, I could take you with me.”

“That’s…a lot of pressure.” Lance said. He hadn’t even debuted the new song and he had to worry about being nominated to even have a chance of seeing if the surgery was an option.

“I know, but Lance if you do qualify…” Shiro started.

“My cancer can be removed.”

“And he can live.” Hunk said, he and Sven listening in on the conversation.

“You have a chance of helping him stay alive, of not letting him live with regrets but you and Pidge could be locked in the dungeons for not doing your duty.” Sven said, glancing at Hunk. “So, what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to protect him, because I promised.” Hunk said.

Like when he heard Lance sing _Eternal Snow_ , Hunk’s head pounded with a sharp pierce of pain. He saw a number of flashes, but the one that stuck was a flash of Lance? Except he was younger, much younger, his blue eyes shining and his chubby cheeks flushed a happy red.

_‘What is happening to me? There’s no way I’ve met Lance when he was a kid, I’ve only been a rookie for2 years. What’s going on?’_


	20. An Assassin's Healing

Lance laid in bed unable to sleep. There was a surgery that could remove his cancer. Lance could actually have the chance of living more than half a year left. He’d be able to come back as Lance, not Isamu. He’d be able to find Akira if he saw him. He wondered how Keith would react…

Keith.

Lance turned onto his side. Pidge wanted him to go to Keith’s mom and defend Keith, something, anything to try and get Keith to feel better. But he couldn’t just go sticking his nose into anything. But…he hadn’t heard from Keith in 2 weeks. A few more days and it would go up to 3. His cover was going to debut at the end of next week and he had the performance to do as well. It was stupid, but Lance wanted Keith to be there, just as much as he wanted to be at Keith’s debut performance. Keith had seen some of his biggest performances that meant so much to him and he wanted Keith to be there for the next one. He wanted to compete with Keith in the award shows. He just wanted Keith to talk to him again.

His hand went to the necklace sitting on his bedside table. Lance pulled it close, the light from his glowing cat light making colourful shadows on the bow. Keith was important to him. He had admired him for so long and he got the chance to actually meet him and they became so close. He didn’t want to lose him. Maybe he should…

“No, Lance no!” Lance turned onto his back, the necklace still in his hand. “You will not be dragged into Pidge’s hairbrained ideas. You already told her it wasn’t happening. You know it’s a bad idea.” The points of the stars that made up to bow dug into his hand. “It’s such a bad idea, but I want to talk to him again.” Lance turned onto his other side. “I want him to feel better and I want him happy again.” Lance sighed, “I’m so going to regret this.”

 Lance turned back to his bedside table and picked up his phone from its charging pod and pulled up his text messages with Nyma.

_You’re pretty knowledgeable with people’s info, right?_

_Are you asking me if I’m a gossip? Isamu, I’m insulted_

_Nyma, your boyfriend has friends in a rebel group. You just answered your own question._

_Ok, fair point. So, what do you want to know?_

_Do you know the exact address of Keith’s mom’s house? He took me there one time, but I didn’t fully pay attention to the way there._

_Pray I ask why?_

Lance looked at the necklace in his other hand. Keith had risked getting in trouble with his record company to give it to Lance.

_I’m going to do something that could get Keith mad at me, but it’s important. Can you get the address or not?_

_Calm down, I got you. Give me five mins._

Lance sighed. “I really hope I don’t regret this.”

* * *

 

“You want to what? I thought you told Pidge you weren’t going to do anything.” Sven asked as he watched Lance pull his shoes on.

“I know, trust me I know. But Keith has done so much for me that I have to at least try. You can’t tell Hunk or Pidge where I went though. One, I don’t want to give Pidge the satisfaction and I don’t need Hunk to try and talk me out of this.”

“Where does Hunk think you’re going looking like Isamu?” Sven felt like he had to ask.

“Hanging out with Nyma.” Lance then remembered Sven didn’t know who that was. “A member of a band I know.”

“Ah. Are you sure you don’t want me coming with you?”

Lance shook his head. “I have to do this on my own. Don’t worry, I have a way to call the others to me if I get in trouble. Remember, just don’t tell them where I am, unless a word shows up in the handbook or something.” With that, Lance picked up his bag and left the house, leaving Sven hoping _he_ didn’t regret anything.

Lance sat in the Uber he had ordered, trying to figure out what he was going to say. He guessed for one, he wanted to know what Keith’s mom did that had hurt Keith so much. He wanted to know if it could be fixed, if they could repair their relationship. Keith said that she didn’t remember the song and if there were such strong emotions attached to them, he couldn’t understand why. He needed answers. He was sure Keith did as well but whatever happened didn’t get him the answers he wanted. To be quite honest, Lance didn’t know what he was really going to do. But he did have to try something.

He finally arrived at the apartment, remembering how Keith asked him to stay outside. He’d sat there on the bike, holding his helmet close, waiting for Keith to come back, nervous that he made a mistake convincing Keith to come here. Now he just had to hope he didn’t make a mistake coming here now. Someone was walking out when he got out of the car, and he couldn’t catch the door in time, so he was faced with having to get buzzed in.

Taking a few deep breaths, he pressed in the call number for the apartment number he got from Nyma. It rang, the light for the camera flashing, making Lance nervous.

“Hello?” a female voice answered. “Who are you?”

“Um, my name is Isamu. I’m a friend of Keith’s. I was hoping to talk to you about him.”

It was silent on the other line and Lance feared she had hung up, even with the camera light still flashing.

“Aren’t you that singer from Altea?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you so worried about Keith? Shouldn’t you be happy Keith is out of your way, so you have the only cover of that song?”

“No! Of course not! My best friend came here to talk to you and now he won’t answer his phone and I don’t know what’s going on with him. Trust me, our little ‘battle’ with _Eternal Snow_ is the last thing on my mind. I just want to know what’s wrong and I know you have the answers. My best friend is hurting, and I don’t know how to make it better, so please.”

The line was quiet again before Lance heard the door to the front of the building being unlocked.

“Come on up. I guess we should talk.” Was all Keith’s mom said before hanging up on her side.

Lance grabbed the door before it could lock again and walked into the building. It was different than the apartment building Keith lived in, leaning more to the type Lance was in. Quaint and homey, just from the way everything seemed approachable. There were paper flyers hanging up on one of the wall of the elevator. Most people would use technological flyers which made seeing the paper ones make the whole building seem humble in a way. Lance got off on the right floor, walking slowly to try and find the right door. He stopped at the sight of the handwritten sign for the apartment. Keith’s last name was written in a child’s hand, so much different that some of the metal signs out some people’s signs. He knew Keith lived with his dad before he moved to a new apartment. He wondered if this was it.

He knocked on the door and it swung up, revealing the tall Galran woman. She had the same mark as Keith on both cheeks and she looked stern staring down at him. Lance was taller as Isamu, but he felt so small in her gaze.

“Come in.” she said, holding the door open. Lance slipped in, toeing his shoes off and waiting for her to do, something. “My name is Krolia. I’m Keith’s mother as I’m sure you have figured out. Now who, are you and your real name if you please.” Lance was hesitant to answer. “You should know I have no use of telling anyone your real name. I work for the Blades of Mamora, if I wanted to, I could look it up myself.”

Lance wouldn’t put it past her. He knew how his son acted. “Kurogane-McClain Lance.”

“And why, Mr. Kurogane-McClain, are you here?”

Lance took a deep breath. “Keith. He came here to talk to you and then suddenly his album is on hold, he didn’t record the song that means so much to him and he won’t answer his phone. I know that because I’m going against Keith in this ‘battle’ that you think I shouldn’t care but I do. I care about him and I know he’s hurting.”

“And you think I hurt him?” Krolia asked, narrowing her eyes at Lance.

“You tell me. I was with him when he came to see you and he refused to talk to me about what happened. Granted from everything I know about you from him, I don’t have a good picture of you at all. This song means so much to Keith, so much to the memories he has of you and his dad and you don’t remember it at all. I don’t understand how you can’t have the same feelings about this song that he does.”

“Like you have any feelings about the song. You don’t know anything about me and my son, so don’t come here acting like you deserve answers.”

Lance bristled at that accusation. “I have feelings about this song for your information. I don’t have parents and from what I was told, _Eternal Snow_ was their song. I’m sing it for them, so I can share the warmth I get from hearing it and thinking of my parents. Keith told me that he thinks of how safe and loved he was hearing his dad sing that song, said how he saw you and his dad happy together. I can’t hear my parents tell me what they think of my cover, but Keith has that option. You took that option away by not remembering and I don’t understand how you can’t.”

“Because I don’t!” Krolia yelled, making Lance step back. “I don’t know the song and you don’t think that kills me?” Krolia stomped into the house, Lance slowly following. “My son thinks I didn’t care about him but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. I never planned to fall in love, my life revolving around being a Blade and forefilling the legacy my grandmother left me. I was coming back from a mission and my ship suddenly loses control and I land in a countryside prefecture. And he found me, Ryou. Let me stay with him until I could be picked up by another Blade. I don’t know what ended up dragging me to him but even after I left, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I went to my first baseball game with him. He heard I never went to and dragged me to one. I could have easily told him no, could have ignored when he reached out after we met again in the city, but I didn’t.”

“He just fit himself in your life and the thought of actually making him leave didn’t sound good?” Lance asked.

Krolia turned and face Lance, nodding before sitting down on the couch, leaning her crossed arms on her knees.

“When it finally accrued to me that I actually liked him, loved him even, I wondered if I would give up being a Blade, but I loved being a Blade. I could have ignored the issue, but he was so good at knowing if something was bothering me. He didn’t want me to give up anything that I loved. And then Keith came, and he became more important than anything.”

“That’s not what he thinks.” Lance said, not really feeling sorry about the flinch Krolia had.

“I know, and I know it’s my own fault. I didn’t want to leave him but there was an outbreak of war on a planet that I had helped protect at one point and they wanted all Blades who had helped on the planet there. That’s when I first had to leave him. I hated it and used the pain of having to leave him and his father to fight the enemy. He was so much bigger when I came back. I was afraid he wouldn’t remember me, but he did.”

“Ok, I get that your job called you out a lot. I think Keith understood that. It’s the song and then you never coming back after his dad died that messed with him.” Lance said. “Did you not remember the name?”

“Can you not blame me for not remembering most of the Paladins songs? They rarely had CDs. As for its meaning between his father and me, I don’t remember what was going on when he proposed to me. We were at a Paladins’ concert and as they’re starting a song, he asked me to marry him. Nothing else mattered then. I don’t remember what the song even was.”

“Keith told me one of his memories of the song was you and his dad in the living room, holding each other as he’s singing the song.” Lance said.

“I know what Keith remembers, he’s already told me, but I don’t remember. I’ve been trying to wrack my brain for anything. I’m not one to forget things easily but I can’t remember the song at all.” Krolia confessed.

Lance’s heart clenched. He didn’t understand how she could forget the song but something in him was telling him it was more than simple forgetfulness. Lance opened his bag and pulled out the music box, putting it on the table in front of him. He could see Krolia was both cautious and curious, but Lance didn’t say anything as he pressed the jewel in the middle. He watched Krolia closely as she stared at the music box. He watched as realization slowly came to her face. She suddenly let out a shuttering breath, surprising Lance as tears started to come to her eyes.

“This is it. The one he was telling me about?” she asked.

Lance nodded, even though Krolia’s gaze was still focused on the music box. “It’s the melody for _Eternal Snow_. It’s the same way the original went. Does it, sound familiar?”

Krolia didn’t answer still staring at the music box, tears sliding down her face. “The job of a Blade is not easy, no matter what their focus is. When you’re sent to a warland on what seems like to be every mission, things follow you back.”

“PTSD?” Lance asked.

“Something like that. During those first few years with Keith, I didn’t want him to see me waking up from the nightmares that sat on the edge of my mind. Ryou would sing for me, until I could finally grasp reality again.”

“But, why would you go back to those missions?” Lance asked, not understanding.

“Because it’s a Blades’ job to protect and stop the corrupt evil. Every time I looked at Keith, I wanted to stay, keep him close and raise him like a normal mother but I knew that for every Blade not helping those waring planets, there would be a mother losing their own child. I know I should have been selfish just to be with him, but I couldn’t just leave those who were trying to protect their children with no help, not when Keith would be safe here.”

“But what about after his dad died? What about then? At that moment, Keith was completely alone and trust me, it doesn’t matter if he still had his godfather, he needed his mom, someone.” Lance asked.

“You sound like you know how that feels.”

“I told you my parents died. I never knew them, and I was alone in an orphanage, not understanding why I didn’t have parents. I understood at a really young age that they were gone, and I wasn’t ever going to see them. I was told I had someone who could take me, but she was traveling, and I didn’t understand why she couldn’t take me now. Even though I was placed with an amazing foster home, I still wanted someone who was supposed to care be there.” Lance said. He wouldn’t admit it but part of him had always been mad at his grandmother for not coming to get him, even though he gained Akira because of it, it felt like she didn’t love him.

“I’m sorry.” Krolia said.

“I’ve accepted that part of my life only because I knew if they were alive, my parents would love me no matter what. That’s why I don’t get why you say you love Keith, but you left him when he needed you the most.”

Krolia looked hurt but not by Lance’s words. “I know what I did, and I regret it every day. I had lost one of the most important people in my life and I blamed myself for it. When I heard he was sick, I was so sure he’d be fine. I asked for updates, focusing on my mission so when it was over, I would ask for time off and I would be able to spend time with my boys. But he kept getting worse. I wasn’t there, so I refused to believe he wouldn’t get better but then he was gone. I couldn’t believe that I had cared so little, so I went and locked myself in my work. I had done it again, turn my back on the most important thing. Keith didn’t deserve someone who couldn’t be there for him.”

“Don’t you think that was something he deserved to decide himself?” Lance questioned.

“I didn’t want to hear that he didn’t want me anymore. But I guess all I did was put those words into his mind when he thought about what I would say to him.”

They were both hurting because the other wouldn’t speak up. They kept missing each other and not fully saying what they needed to say.

“You need to tell him.” Lance said. “What you told me, about the reason you stayed and about the song, you need to let him know. Also, you need to tell him that the song _does_ mean something to you.”

“What are you talking about? I barely remember it.”

“Your husband sang it for you, so you could anchor yourself, right? When he sang it, you felt safe? That’s what Keith thinks of when he hears the song and I think right now, he doesn’t think those feelings are real. You need to let him know they are because that’s what it means for you.”

Krolia stared at Lance. “Why do you want to help him so badly? You could of thought of me as a villain and never bothered to find out what happened.”

Lance looked away, almost uncomfortable with the raw question. He knew why he was doing this but for some reason the way she asked it, sounded like the answer he gave had to mean more.

“I’ve always loved Keith’s music. I was hoping at the very least I’d meet him when I became a singer. More than that happened, Keith became my friend, someone I can depend on, someone who…someone who means the world to me. Keith’s done so much for me and rarely asks for anything. He deserves so much, and I want to be able to give it to him.”

“He’s someone who just fit himself in your life and the thought of actually making him leave didn’t sound good?” Krolia asked, throwing Lance’s words back at him, his face turning red.

“It’s not like that!” Lance shouted, “Keith means a lot to me, but not like that!”

“Right. That’s what I would tell Thace about Ryou.”

“Ok! I think you get my point. Just contact Thace so you can talk to Keith and try and sort this out. I’m not saying he’ll forgive you easily, but I think he deserves to know the truth.” Lance said, standing up, picking up the music box.

“Where did you get that music box?” Krolia suddenly asked.

Lance looked down at the fixed music box, the object that held his father’s love for his mother. “It belonged to my parents. The song meant a lot to them.”

“I think they’d be proud of your cover.”

“Thanks, but I think Keith wants to know you’re proud of his.”

* * *

 

Keith threw the ball back down the hall, watching Kosmo jump off the bed and chase after it, Red looking a bit disgruntled with the sudden movement interrupting her nap. Keith knew Kosmo would take a while, wanting to play with the ball before he came teleporting back to him. He missed Kosmo. The wolf was able to tell that Keith needed something to keep his mind off his mom and teleported on top of the half Galran singer, a drool covered ball in his mouth. As disgusting as it was to touch, Keith appreciated the distraction. He’d been ignoring things since the album was put on hold. Calls from Empire wanting answers, calls from Kolivan to check up on him, telling him he was still on contract to do the album when Keith was ready. Questions from his fans, wondering what was going on, calls from reporters, wanting to pick his brain. His gaze caught a strip of colourful photos, leaning against a framed photograph of his dad laying on the couch, a child him asleep on his dad’s chest.

Calls from Lance. He didn’t want to ignore calls from him, but he also didn’t want to answer questions. He knew if he said so, Lance wouldn’t but just thinking about Lance made him think of _Eternal Snow_ and he didn’t want to think about that. He didn’t want to take it out on Lance, but he couldn’t have it both ways.

Kosmo appeared on the bed again, dropping the ball, small globs of drool dropping onto his comforter.

Keith wrinkled his nose in disgust and looked up at the wolf, his ears perked up. “You’re disgusting.” Red flicked her tail like she agreed.

He was starting to feel hungry, so he decided it was time for dinner. He was on the way to kitchen, there was a knock on the door. He didn’t know who’d be knocking at his door. Thace and Ulaz had keys, anyone else wouldn’t be able to get in the building without a fob key. He went and opened the door, stopping when he saw who was on the other side.

“Mom? What are you doing here?”

Krolia looked a bit uncomfortable. “I know you don’t want to listen to me, but I need you to listen to me.”

Keith gritted his teeth in anger. “Why the hell should I listen to you?”

“Because your friend Isamu? He came to me trying to find out what happened, and I think I owe to him to talk to you.”

“What?” Lance went to his mother? “When?”

“I left the house not long after he did. He cares about you a lot. He came at me angry that I upset you and he wanted answers.”

Lance went to his mom. To look for answers. Whatever Lance told his mom brought her here to talk to him. Keith wanted his own answers, more about what the hell did Lance do with his mother.

“Fine. I’ll listen. But you leave when I tell you to.” Keith demanded, Krolia nodding in agreement. He let her inside and stood in the living room, waiting for her to start talking.

“When I said I didn’t remember _Eternal Snow_ , I didn’t mean that I don’t know what it means. I meant I don’t remember the song at all. At least until today. You said you remember your father and I dancing to the song as he sang it?”

“So?” Keith asked, trying not to snap at her admission at not remembering the song.

“Going on those missions, you bring back horrors with you. Horrors that can latch onto your reality even as you sleep. I never wanted you to know so your father would sing to me to help me ground myself. I don’t remember what he sang, I wish I did. My mind was more focused on fixing itself on his voice so it wouldn’t focus on the words. But I know now that _Eternal Snow_ was one of the songs.”

Keith was not an asshole. He knew how PTSD could affect people. He hadn’t realised that his mother had been affected. She always looked fine when she would come back from a mission. Did his dad sing the songs in the house so he remembered them for when his mother needed to be grounded?

“How did you even remember it? There’s almost no recording of _Eternal Snow_.”

“Your friend had a music box with the melody. He played it for me and suddenly I could remember your father’s arms around me.”

“Ok, ok fine.” Keith stopped her. “So, you had a reason for not remembering the song, a reason I can’t get upset about. But what about when dad died? You just left. What about that?”

Krolia looked away for a moment before looking at Keith, “my own selfish denial is the only reason there is. I got the message your father was sick, but I refused to believe that. Your father had been through so much and medicine was so advanced. How could he not be fine?” Keith thought that too. He thought his dad would be healed in no time. “I didn’t want to even think that I could be wrong, so I focused on the mission, thinking that the minute it was done, I’d be able to be with you again for longer. But I was so, so wrong. When they told me, he was…I couldn’t believe it, but the hospital confirmed it. I know I should have stayed with you, but I was sure you didn’t deserve to be with someone who couldn’t be there for you when you needed, so I left.”

“But I did need you!” Keith yelled, tears brimming in his eyes. “Right then, I needed you more than ever, but you left. I was left thinking you never cared!”

“Never cared? Keith, you couldn’t be more wrong. I cared about more than anything. You said I care more about the mission than I did you but that’s not even close to true. I wanted to stay home with you more than anything. I wanted to be so selfish and ignore every call out for duty but then I thought about all the mothers who had children they loved just as much as I loved you and I couldn’t leave them by themselves. I knew you would be safe, so I had to help them keep their children safe. Knowing I could come home to my boys safe and sound kept me going. But I ruined that and I’m the only person to blame.” Krolia watched her son, tears falling from his eyes. “I owed you the truth for so long and I’m sorry I kept it from you so long.” Krolia moved, making her way to leave but stopped when Keith grabbed her by her arm. His grip was tight, but it wasn’t out of anger. This was the same grip he would have as a child, begging his mother not to leave.

“I didn’t tell you to leave.” He said. “You said you didn’t want to leave, so why are you doing it now?”

“Oh, my boy.” Krolia gathered Keith into her arms, pressing her face into his hair as his arms wrapped around her waist.

“I’m still mad at you.” He said.

“I know. I deserve it. I promise if you don’t want me to go anywhere, I’m not going anywhere. I already lost you once. I won’t go through it again.” She felt Keith tighten his arms. “You know, your friend said something that I agree with. I might not remember the song, but I know that those songs kept me grounded. I don’t remember your father singing it and it would be a shame to not hear you sing it.”

“My version is different.” Keith sniffed.

“I still want to listen to it.”

“I’ll try. But wait a minute,” Krolia’s heart tightened when Keith pulled away, but loosened when he spoke, “How the hell did he find you?”

“I take it you mean your friend Isamu, or I guess I should say Lance?”

“Yeah. I only took him to the other apartment once, there’s no way he could remember it that easily. Why was he even there?”

“Keith, because he cares. It doesn’t matter how he found me. What matters is that he wants to keep you happy. You’re lucky to have each other.”

“Yeah I guess.” Keith said, thinking that he needed to talk to Lance.

“So, when are you going to ask him out?” Krolia asked.

“Excuse me? It’s not like that.” Keith explained, not feeling like it was the right time to tell his mother about his one sided feelings. He was only just starting to understand his mother’s reasonings and slowly forgive her.

“Funny, that’s what he said.”

“What? What the hell did you ask him?”

* * *

 

“I see you have a new friend. He wasn’t in the cover jacket of the CD with the other two.” An interviewer asked Lance as he sat getting his hair and makeup done.

“No, I only recently got him, and it seemed kinda cruel to leave him behind, so I had to bring him with me. His name is Sven.” Lance said, waving Sven’s paw at the interviewer.

“They’re all so cute. I bet your gonna keep them close as you continue to get ready for your second single debut performance.”

“Oh, I’m not letting these guys go until I’m about to get on stage.” Lance said.

The second debut performance was that day and Lance could hear the people in the crowds from where his dressing tent was located behind the outside stage area. Lance was nervous, but he was more nervous about the fact that after almost 3 weeks of radio silence from Keith, he had texted to say he’d be stopping by. He really hopped he wouldn’t be there to yell at him for talking to his mom. He hoped that Krolia coming clear with the things she had been holding in would at the very least start to make things better. But god only knew.

“How are you feeling with the pause of Red’s upcoming album? Have you heard anything?”

Lance shook his head as much as he could. “I haven’t. I’m upset because I know his cover would be amazing but I’m also worried because I don’t know what’s going on but all I can hope is that everything it ok.”

“We hope so as well. I think that’s everything, thank you letting me interview you.”

“Thank you for coming. I hope you enjoy the performance.” Lance thanked.

“And you are all done.” The hair stylist said, patting Lance on the shoulder.

“Thank you.” He said, getting up and looking into the mirror, admiring the braids that kept his hair back. “It looks amazing as usual.”

Shiro and Allura came in, thanking the interviewer as they left.

“You look amazing Lance.” Allura said, as Lance put the Shinigamis down to fix the bow on his outfit. It was mostly white, some of the panelling on the shirt sheer, the blue accents matching his marks. His gloves were made of the same sheer material the panels were made of and the white and blue leg warmers kept his legs warm where his shorts didn’t reach.

“Thanks, it’s definitely different than my last outfit. No heavy cape.”

“No, just a really long bow.” Shiro said. “We’ll be starting soon. The MC will want to ask you a few questions before you start so just a heads up.”

“Got it. Um, have you seen Keith out there? He said he was gonna show up, but I don’t know if he’s actually going to.”

Shiro shook his head. “I haven’t seen him. I don’t think you should be so worried though.”

“How can I not? I told myself I wouldn’t stick my nose in and instead just threw my whole body in.”

“True, but you got the answers you wanted, and you know that she’s at least going to talk to him. Whatever happens after that is up to them.” Shiro said. Lance knew he was right, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t still be worried.

“I’m missing a pair of earrings.” The hair stylist said. She was also in charge of the accessories and had been laying them out. “They were really good ones to, one had the cuff looking like a snow flake and the other had a dangling paw. They must be in my car. Isamu, why don’t you go ahead and pick the ones you want the most and put them on. I’ll go see if I can find them.”

“Got it.” Lance said. He was already wearing the necklace Keith gave him, so he eyed the two different chockers that were laid out. He was so focused on the jewellery he didn’t see who walked in but Allura and Shiro did.

“Um, Shiro, shouldn’t we go check on the sound?” Allura asked.

“Um, right. Of course. We’ll come get you later Lance.”

“Ok.” Lance said, looking up to see Shiro and Allura leaving but his attention was on the one person still standing in the tent. “Keith.”

Keith’s face was blank as he walked a bit closer to Lance. “Hey.”

“Hi.” Lance wanted to say more but what could he say? “I didn’t think you’d actually come.”

“I meant to be here earlier, but I had a meeting with Kolivan and his team and it took longer than expected.”

“Oh?” Lance asked hoping for good news.

“But before I say what, I’ve got a question for you. What the hell where you thinking?”

“Ok look, I know what I did was totally over stepping my boundaries. I told myself I wasn’t going to get involved, that this was something you had to deal with but Keith, I felt so guilty. You got hurt and I’m the one that forced you into that situation. How could I not feel guilty when you weren’t answering my calls and I didn’t know what was going on with you? All I knew was that your album was on hold and you hadn’t recorded _Eternal Snow_ and you left in tears! I was so sure that it was my fault, so I had to go find out what happened. Plus, you’ve always done things for me and I feel like I haven’t done the same and maybe going to your mom might not have been the best thing, but we cleared things up and I have a much better picture and I know she had to talk to you. But I know I still shouldn’t have tried to stick my nose into this and I’m sorry.”

“Lance, I’m upset that you did stick your nose into my business, but I do have to thank you.” Keith said, a small understanding smile coming to his face.

“Really?”

“My relationship with my mom isn’t magically fixed, there are still issues we have to fix but I understand why she did things. They weren’t the best, but she thought they were better for me and I know that she does care for me. And while my memories of the song are different from what they actually were, the meaning is still the same. I would have never known that if you hadn’t gone to my mom and talked to her. She said that she would have never said anything if you hadn’t gone to her. She has you to thank for remembering the song.”

Lance shyly shrugged. “It wasn’t anything big. I am still sorry though.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t answer. You at least deserved to know I was ok, mostly.”

Seeing that he had a chance, Lance went and hugged Keith, Keith’s arms wrapping around him. “I’m glad you’re ok. Oh wait,” pulling away so he could look at Keith, Lance asked, “what was the meeting about? Is your album off pause?”

“Yes, but _Eternal Snow_ won’t be on this. But,” Keith said, seeing Lance about to open his mouth, “I’m going to release a deluxe version of the album with another Korean track and _Eternal Snow_ later. Instead of _Eternal Snow_ on the first release I’m putting a song that never really got released to the public. It was the opening for an anime that I got pulled from before it was released.”

“ _Odd Future_!” Lance said, not thinking about how Lance, the 17 year old fan, knew this, but Isamu, the 20 year old singer wasn’t.

“How do you know that?”

“I am you biggest fan.” Lance struggled to say, quickly changing the subject. “Are you going to stay?”

“Of course. I need to hear my competition’s version, so I know what I’m up against.” Keith teased.

“Oh please, we both know it’s a battle of the producers, not the singers.”

“Why? Scared to go up against me?” Keith teased, laughing as Lance shoved him away in retaliation.

“Asshole. Do something useful and help me pick accessories.” Lance ordered.

“Of course, your highness.” Keith said, bowing to Lance.

By the time the stylist was back with the missing earrings, Lance had chosen a white beaded chocker, a white circlet with a blue gem and a silver ring that sat on his thumb, Keith suggesting Lance go with the cuffed earing that had the dangling paw print. Shiro came back as Lance was done getting dressed.

“We’re ready for you. You sticking around?” he asked Keith as both singers left the tent, the Shinigamis held in Lance’s arms.

“If that’s ok yeah.”

“Of course. We’re glad you’re ok. It makes Isamu happy and that’s always a good thing.” Shiro said, watching as Lance handed Allura the plushes, taking the mic she handed him.

“Yeah, I’m glad his happy to.” Keith said, not seeming to notice the knowing look on Shiro’s face

“Alright everyone,” the MC said, “please welcome to the stage the singer you’ve been waiting for, please welcome, Isamu Prince of Altea!”

“Hi everyone!” Lance greeted the crowd. “Thank you all for coming today. I hope you guys were able to get the CD for my cover of _Eternal Snow_. If not, don’t worry. I’ve released a lyric video online to tide you over until you can get the CD. Thank you all so much for the support you’ve given me.”

“So, I have to ask, only singer with this cover, how does it feel?”

“Uh, exciting because this song meant a lot to my parents and getting to work with Takashi Shirogane was pretty exciting. I will say however, I won’t be the only singer of this cover soon.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry. That’s all I’m allowed to say. You just have to wait for the official announcement.” Lance teased the audience, who begged for Lance to say something.

“You’re hurting us here Isamu. But I guess you can’t bargain with a prince.”

“Doesn’t end well most of the time, no.”

“But perhaps we can be appeased with a song? Who wants to hear the cover they’ve been waiting for live?” the crowd shouted their answer.

“Who would I’d be to deny my subjects? I’ve only really gotten to sing this song in the studio, so I hope you guys are as excited as I am. This is _Eternal Snow_ by the Paladins.”

The MC left the stage, leaving Lance standing there by himself as the music started. He thought about his parents, who had this song full of their love. He looked over to where Allura, Shiro and Keith were. This song was his now, his to send his feelings to and he hoped they felt the warmth. He hoped that his grandmother would one day feel the message he was trying to give.

**_Do you know I fell in love with you,_ **

**_I can’t remember, how long has it been?_ **

**_All I know, is this love within my heart,_ **

**_Waiting for you_ **

****

**_Can’t you see, what you mean to me?_ **

**_How I wish you could read my mind_ **

**_All these feelings, I could never find_ **

**_The right words to explain …_ **

****

**_Like the snow, all my love,_ **

**_Falling down from above_ **

**_In time - in time_ **

**_It piles high, as if to touch the sky_ **

 

“Hunk, it’s happening again.” Pidge asked, seeing Hunk wincing.

 

“He’s reacted to the song before?” Sven asked.

 

“Guys, it’s fine. Trust me, it’s ok.”

 

“You’re in pain, how is this ok?” Pidge asked.

 

“Lance is singing happily. Whatever is happening to me doesn’t matter.”

 

“I don’t think Lance would agree.” Pidge said, Sven looking at Hunk carefully. He had a guess of what was going on, but he couldn’t say anything, not without being sure.

 

**_Hold me tight_ **

**_I wish I’d never known your light_ **

****

**_This can’t be right_ **

**_This can’t be how it’s meant to feel_ **

**_But I can’t turn back time now cause_ **

**_I love you_ **

**_I only wish it wasn’t true_ **

**_I wish I could forget - Wish that we’d never met_ **

**_Inside my heart, I know - Eternal Snow_ **

 

**_Do you know, you’re still in my dreams?_ **

**_How much longer till you let me sleep?_ **

**_So I stay awake at the window pane_ **

**_My breath fogging the glass_ **

****

**_Can the snow in my heart,_ **

**_Melt away with the pain?_ **

**_One day – One day_ **

**_I pray that it might_ **

**_Just take one candle’s flame_ **

****

**_Hold me tight_ **

**_Until I break -  I hope I might_ **

****

**_Cause then the wind_ **

**_And cold can’t reach me anymore_ **

**_I only wanna feel nothing_ **

**_I miss you_ **

**_When every thought’s a thought of you_ **

**_And I stand here alone, cause tonight is the same_ **

**_Inside my heart, I know - Eternal Snow_ **

****

**_I wonder if, the falling snow_ **

**_Will numb my heart_ **

**_And if with time, could it hide,_ **

**_These lonely nights and all of my love for you?_ **

****

**_Hold me tight_ **

**_I wish I’d never known your light_ **

****

**_This can’t be right_ **

**_This can’t be how it’s meant to feel_ **

**_But I can’t turn back time now cause_ **

**_I love you_ **

**_I only wish it wasn’t true_ **

**_You can’t be here and I -_ **

**_Shout to the winter sky_ **

**_Inside my heart, I know, Eternal Snow_ **

****

**_Hold me tight_ **

**_Ohh I miss you_ **

**_I love you_ **

****

**_And I stand here alone_ **

**_Cause tonight is the same_ **

**_So fall forever_ **

****

**_Oh eternal snow_ **


	21. A Prince's truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D25FPfkZ0GI) is Keith's first song and [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_RMCNtHZGU) is his second. And just in case you wanted it, [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtHJI95wC88) is Lance's song.

“And we have a treat for you today. As you all know, not long after Isamu, Prince of Altea released his CD for his cover of _Eternal Snow_ , we were told that the Galran Assassin of Music, Red would be releasing his new CD soon after. We had all been worried when it was announced that the CD was being put on pause due to personal reasons, but it was just released today. And now performing the title song _Thirsty_ , please welcome, Red!” the host announced as the camera turned over to the stage where Keith stood with his back up dancers, throwing this hood off as the music started.

**_Thirsty  
galjeungi na _ **

**_Ah_ **   
**_han mogeumman ni ibeul humcheobogopeun_ **   
**_nan mogi ta_ **   
**_sumsorineun gallajigo_ **   
**_shimjangsorin gappajigo_ **   
**_I know, you know, we know_ **   
**_baraman bogien_ **   
**_nae nune tteun neoran dari areumdaweo_ **

**_Ready, set it off_ **   
**_jamgin moksoriro nae ireumeul bulleojweo_ **   
**_bamiraneun aekja sok geurim gateun neowa na_ **   
**_museun mari piryohae Tonight, come in here_ **

**_bimilseureopge neoreul naege ttarajweo_ **   
**_(Fill it up more, fill it up more)_ **   
**_neoro chaeweojigo shipeo_ **

**_ni ape seomyeon nan mogi mallawa Yeah_ **   
**_on momi tteollyeo nan sumi taolla_ **   
**_neol baraman bogien_ **   
**_Thirsty oh yeah, so thirsty_ **   
**_nan jogeumdo neol chameul su eopseo_ **   
**_You make me thirsty_ **

**_shiganman Tic tac toc_ **   
**_mak shijakdwen i bamen_ **   
**_geupal ge eopttan geol aljiman_ **   
**_buranhae mweongae mak jjotgi deut ttami na_ **   
**_chameulseongeul ireoga iseongeul mot charyeo_ **   
**_nan Oh god nal yongseohaejweo_ **

**_shwipjimaneun anchiman shilchimando anchana_ **   
**_jjalbeun kkumigetjiman_ **   
**_Good night, come in here_ **

**_bimilseureopge neoreul naege ttarajweo_ **   
**_(Fill it up more, fill it up more)_ **   
**_Oh neoro chaeweojigo shipeo_ **

**_ni ape seomyeon nan mogi mallawa Yeah_ **   
**_on momi tteollyeo nan sumi taolla Ah_ **   
**_neol baraman bogien_ **   
**_Thirsty oh yeah, so thirsty_ **   
**_nan jogeumdo neol chameul su eopseo_ **   
**_You make me thirsty_ **

**_amuri neomcheodo mojara_ **   
**_ajik ni sarange mongmalla_ **   
**_Oh dan han mogeumman deo_ **   
**_Baby you know what I want_ **

**_teong bin samak gateun nae mam wiro_ **   
**_neoran bireul naeryeojweo Oh girl_ **   
**_neoreul naeryeojweo (Thirsty thir-thirsty)_ **   
**_neoreul naeryeojweo (Thirsty thir-thirsty)_ **

**_ni ape mongmallahaneun nareul bwa Yeah_ **   
**_tteugeopge taollabeorin nareul bwa Ah_ **   
**_neol baraman bogien_ **   
**_Thirsty oh yeah, so thirsty_ **   
**_nan jogeumdo neol chameul su eopseo_ **   
**_You make me thirsty_ **

**_Thirsty  
You make me thirsty_ **

**_Thirsty_ **

The audience cheered as Keith bowed to them, a large smile on his face.

“Please give it up for Red everyone. So Red, most of us were expecting to hear _Eternal Snow_. What happened to it?”

“Well I actually replaced it with another song because I want to have a deluxe version of this album that will have _Eternal Snow_. I want it to be really special because there’s a new feeling I have concerning the song and I want to be able to share it. So I’m really sorry to everyone who was waiting for it, but I promise it will be coming up.” Keith promised.

“Well we are pretty in love with your new title song. You don’t sing enough Korean songs.”

“No, everyone asks for it, but it feels like a special thing, since you know, I was born in Korea and it’s the language I first learned.” Keith explained.

“Well now we have to make you do something fitting of this. To say goodbye, here’s Red’s buuing buuing! 1, 2, 3!”

While surprised at the sudden command, Keith put his fists up to his cheeks and twitched his ears as he said, “buuing buuing!” it took everything in him not to start cringing as he hid his face.

“The Galran Assassin of Music, Red everyone!” the director called for break and Keith let himself burst into embarrassed laughter. “I’m sorry, but I had to.”

“It’s ok. Thank you for having me.”

“Of course. Congratulations on your new album. It came out just in time to be taken for consideration for the Galaxy Awards. Must be exciting.”

“It is. Fingers crossed that it can at least be nominated.” Keith said.

“Of course. Thank you again for being here.”

“Of course.” Keith nodded before facing the backup dancers, “guys, thank you so much!” They all either bowed in response or applauded. “I hope to work with you soon.”

“Red,” Thace called walking over, “the photo shoot was moved up, so we have to head out now.”

Keith thanked everyone once more, pulling his headset mic pack off and handing it to the sound tech, following Thace. Since the final release of his mini-album, he’d been busy. Kolivan confirmed that the rumours of the chance to go to California to whoever won the Best Song Award. Keith had been cutting it close with the release of his CD. Honestly at this point, he wanted a chance to at least perform at the award show. The show itself was in December and they’d find out nominees in October, close to his birthday. Things were going to be jammed packed he knew, and he also knew that Lance would be busy as well.

“Ready for this?” Thace asked.

“As long as I don’t get that sprung on me again, I’m good.”

* * *

 

“Here’s something I don’t get,” Sven started as he watched Lance sit still for a check-up from Shiro. “Lance has liked this Akira guy for ages, says he feels the same, but no call, no e-mail? Not even a letter?”

Pidge shrugged. She was a little more trustful of Sven, but only a little. “That’s the way it’s been.”

“Doesn’t make sense to me. All this technology and this guy can’t find his crush?”

“Well if Lance’s song is nominated and he wins, he gets a chance to go find him himself.” Pidge said.

“But it’s so backwards.”

“Sven, that’s the way it is. We can’t change that. Lance and his search for Akira will be fine. What we should worry about is Hunk. He can’t even come to any of Lance’s performances anymore because all that happens is he gets hurt. You know why. I know you do.” Pidge demanded to know, narrowing her eyes at Sven.

“I have an idea as to why, but I don’t want to guess and be wrong. Temped as I was, I never did look at his file after he was paired with you. All I know is that he’s a bit of an anomaly.”

“It’s Hunk, of course he is.”

Lance snorted in laughter, making Shiro have to pull the wooden stick out of Lance’s mouth so he didn’t choke on it.

“What is it?”

“Nothing, Pidge and Sven are just talking about Hunk. He hasn’t been able to come to any of the recent performances because he’s been getting hurt.”

“Hurt? I didn’t know Shinigami’s could get hurt.” Shiro said, sticking the stick back into Lance’s mouth to keep his tongue down.

Once Shiro finally removed it, Lance spoke again. “I don’t think they can but from the one time I saw, it looked like a really bad headache.” The humour from the joke about Hunk was replaced with concern. It had been terrifying seeing Hunk sink like that. It took everything in Lance not to jump off stage to check on him. He hadn’t even mentioned it after either, just gave Lance a big smile and told him he sung really well.

“Hunk seems like the type to not want to worry anyone. I’d say keep an eye on him.” Shiro suggested. “Now in terms of you, the tumour hasn’t grown, and you’ve been pretty healthy. We’re supposed to be finding out the nominees soon. Are you nervous?”

“A bit. I mean, if I get chosen, then the nerves will start all over again. Not only that, I still have to get Keith a birthday present. We find out the nominees the day after his birthday.” Lance said, feeling a bit stressed from everything that was coming up.

“You will be fine. Do you have any idea on what to get for him?”

Lance shook his head, his hand going to the bow made of stars. It was a risk wearing when he was just Lance, but it didn’t feel right to take it off, so he tucked it into his shirt. He wanted his gift to be as special as the one Keith got for him.

“I know whatever it’ll be, it’ll be special. You think you’ll be ok?”

“Yeah. Allura is busy so I guess I can go to mall and go shopping a bit.” Lance said, picking up his bag, Shiro following him to the door. Lance opened the door and stepped into the hallway, stopping at the sight of the familiar person walking down the hall. “Matt?”

Sure enough, with a hat pulled down to block his face, was Matt, his face sombre. He looked up and saw Lance looking at him.

“Matt, hi.” Shiro greeted.

“Hi Shiro. What are you doing here?”

“I might be Isamu’s producer, but I am still working as a doctor part time. This is one of my patients. This is Lance.”

“Oh, nice to meet you.” Matt said, shaking Lance’s hand.

“Nice to meet you too.” Lance said, trying to figure out why Matt, who always seemed to be a bundle of energy, seemed to be so quiet.

“I’m really sorry, but I’ve got to go.” Matt said.

“Of course. It was really nice to meet you.”

“You too.” With that, Matt disappeared down the hall.

“Did you know Matt has a little sister?” Shiro said, staring at where Matt disappeared. “I didn’t know until recently when he went to one of the private rooms. His little sister tried committing suicide by overdose. Matt had been the one to find her and get her to the hospital.”

“Did she…?” Lance asked, almost disbelieving. Matt never mentioned his family so to hear that his sister tired killing herself, Lance couldn’t believe it.

Shiro shook his head, facing Lance. “They pumped her stomach out but she slipped into a coma. She’s on life support, has been for a few years. Apparently, they were supposed to be a singing duo but after she slipped into the coma, Nyma and Rolo took him into their band and started The Rebels.”

“I never knew.”

“I don’t think anyone does. I found all this out from Ulaz and the doctors that focus on Matt’s sister. I wouldn’t let Matt know you know unless he tells you. I don’t even he thinks I know.”

“Right.” Lance said.

Pidge was looking down the hall where Matt had disappeared, a pain in her chest growing.

“Are you ok?” Sven asked.

“Yeah. I guess it’s just hearing her story. If she goes off life support, she would end up as one of us.” Pidge said, the pain in her chest growing, not going away as she rubbed her palm against it.

Sven narrowed his eyes. Of course the two Shinigami who were looking after the one human who could see them would be having these problems. Well, he couldn’t be totally sure yet, but he had a feeling. It was one thing to become a Shinigami with a hold on your memories like he did. It was another to suddenly regain them and be forced to live with those painful memories all over again.

* * *

 

“Never leave me with Slav! I was starting to go insane! He won’t shut up about alternate realities. I got a whole discussion about how in one reality I’m a pilot for a giant yellow mechanical lion!” Hunk started to complain the minute Lance was in the door.

“So a Paladin of Voltron?” Pidge asked.

“Yes, but in that reality, humans and aliens still lived on their own planets unknowing of the other existence.” Hunk said. “I don’t want to have to sit through that again!”

“Well you have a problem listening to me sing _Eternal Snow,_ so we don’t have a choice. On a new note, it has taken a while to decide, but I finally got Keith’s present!” Lance said, lifting the gift bag in his hand. “We find out the nominees next week and his birthday is going to be busy because he’s still promoting his CD, so I’m going to make sure it’s an amazing.”

“Aww, such a caring boyfriend.” Pidge teased.

“Not dignifying that with a response. I’m off for the rest of the day so I’m staying in my room.” Lance said, walking and sliding the barn door of his bedroom open and closing it behind him.

“He makes it really hard to believe him about not having feelings for Keith when he acts like this.” Sven pointed out.

“He got really pissed one time when Keith wouldn’t answer, and I teased him about it. He keeps insisting that Akira is for him. But hey, once he finally gets the chance to see Akira again, maybe he’ll see his feelings have changed.” Pidge said.

“In many realities,” Slav started sneaking his way into the conversation but was stopped when Hunk slapped his hand over his mouth.

“That’s enough out of you, thank you!”

Sven shook his head at his partner. “I still think it’s strange that he hasn’t tried contacting Lance all this time. It’s been what? 6 years?”

“It’s 10. But don’t tell me your still on this.” Pidge said.

“It’s a valid thing to worry about. What if Lance is still on this guy but he’s completely forgotten about him?” Sven said.

“No one asked your opinion Mr. Doubter.” Pidge said.

“Well, Pidge.” Hunk started.

“No! Come on, you’re really going to doubt Akira?” Pidge snapped.

“Pidge, the time you turned into him to talk to Lance, he had a panic attack at the sight of him.” Hunk reminded, “We still don’t know why he did.”

“He said it was because he wasn’t ready to tell him how he feels.”

“Pidge, do you still feel guilty for what you did?” Hunk asked, not understanding why Pidge wasn’t accepting that there were holes in Akira’s image.

“What do you think?” Pidge snapped. “I gave him a panic attack and I keep teasing him about Keith when I know his heart belongs to Akira.”

“Feelings change Pidge. I just think that even though we’ve been helping Lance get to Akira, this guy he’s been in love for 10 years, the fact that he’s gotten no type of contact from him. I just don’t want Lance to be hurt when he finally finds him.”

“Is there even a way for us to find out answers without going to Lance or waiting to see if we can even go to California?” Sven asked.

Hunk thought. That was a good question. Lance was pretty tight lipped about it and he didn’t want to start an argument with Lance. There had to be someone. Then he remembered something. Back when Lance had the panic attack, Shiro told Coran not to tell his grandmother. Hunk had no desire to go ask Lance’s grandmother, which meant they had to go talk to Shiro.

“Yeah. Shiro. You two stay here, I’ll go ask him.”

“Wait, Hunk!” Pidge yelled trying to stop him, but Hunk had already phased through the door, leaving an annoyed Pidge.

“Get over it Pidge. If he’s right and Akira has forgotten about him, he’d be saving him a lot of heart ache.” Sven said.

Pidge knew he was right, but that didn’t mean she had to be happy about it.

“There are realities that Akira is not alive, dying before he ever reached California.” Slav said before Pidge kicked him away.

“Put a sock in it will you? No one wants to hear about your realities.” She huffed. “I’m gonna watch TV.” She announced, leaving Sven with his thoughts. He had this ill feeling in his stomach.

_‘Something is gonna go wrong. I don’t know what, but something is going to change. I don’t know what and that upsets me.’_ Sven thought.

While Sven worried and Pidge decided to ignore the possible issue, Hunk flew to the hospital. He was hoping to find Shiro in his office but Shiro was talking with a small group of doctors. He guessed by the mugs they held in their hand and how most of them where empty that they’d been standing there for a while. Hunk was in no mood to just stand there, waiting for the very boring conversation of some surgery to end.

“Not like I can turn into a stuff animal and hope he notices me. Plus with all the people around, I might get picked up.” Hunk sighed. “I can’t believe I’m going to do this. I hate having to do this.” Going to an empty hallway, Hunk let his wings put him on his feet and focused. He gathered all the power he could and with a snap, he turned into a human. Like Pidge using Rover to change her appearance, Hunk could change himself. It just took a lot of energy and he couldn’t switch back after a while. He hoped it would be worth it. He walked out and approached the group. “Shiro.”

His mug to his lips, Shiro’s eyes slid over to him, his eyes widening as he choked on his coffee. Shiro coughed, staring at Hunk in disbelief. “Tsuyoshi?”

Tsuyoshi? Who was that?

That was him. That was Hunk.

That was his name. that had been his name when he was alive.

Hunk didn’t think, he just turned around and took off, ignoring Shiro’s calls for him to wait. He felt himself turn back into a Shinigami and took off, phasing through a wall and went flying when his head felt like it was being spilt open. It was like whenever he heard Lance sing _Eternal Snow_ but 10 times worse.

He saw flashes of people. One was Lance’s parents, another was the inside of a recording studio but not one Lance had ever been in, one of a stage, one of Shiro, his hair long and pulled back, bright lights and pain in his throat, a voice calling out to him, begging him to not do something. And the same flash he had seen, Lance as a kid, bright eyes and smile shinning at him.

“What’s happening to me?” Hunk asked out loud, his fingers pressing hard against his head trying to stop the flashes of memory from coming. But they didn’t stop.

* * *

 

“How are you comfortable?” Lance asked, video calling Keith, who was laying on his side on his bed, Kosmo fitting his head between Keith’s shoulder and head. Kosmo looked like he was asleep, and Lance could red fur at the edge of the screen from where Snap had to be.

“He used to fit his whole body when he was a puppy. Trust me, this is more comfortable. I don’t look forward to being on my back and there two fighting for space on my stomach.”

“This is why I have stuffed animals. Much easier to move around.” Lance sounding proud of himself.

“Sure, that’s why.” Keith drawled.

“Don’t be rude. I just finished wrapping your gift and I’m still able to go and return it.”

“No, no, please don’t. I’ll need something to get me through the day if I find out I didn’t get nominated.” Keith said.

“Nervous huh?”

“Yeah. I mean I’ve gone to a bunch of places when on tour, but I haven’t gotten to the point of being popular enough to do shows in America. What would you do if you win?”

“Other than freak out? I’d be excited because I could go look for Akira. His family is supposed to be living in LA.” Lance noticed Keith’s face fall slightly. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. You must be excited to be close to a chance of finding him.”

“Of course I am. It’s been 10 years since I last saw him.”

“Wow, 10 years. That’s a long time to have feelings for someone. He must be something.” Keith looked forlorn for some reason. “He’s a lucky guy. Hey, I have to get going. I’ll talk to you later.”

Lance didn’t get to even say goodbye when Keith hung up, leaving Lance feeling a bit hurt. He was going to drop his phone on the bedside table when it started to ring again.

“Hello?”

_“Lance, listen I need you to listen to me and just do what I tell you ok?”_ Shiro ordered in a frantic voice.

“Shiro? What is it?”

_“The stack of pictures I gave you. Have you ever looked at all of them?”_

“The one of the wedding? No, why?”

_“I need you to look for a picture of 4 people. It’ll be me, your parents and one more people. You have to tell me who that other person is.”_

Lance didn’t know what Shiro was trying to, but he did what he asked. Keeping the phone pressed to his ear with his shoulder, Lance pulled his drawer open and pulled out the stack of pictures, putting them on his bed. He fanned them out on his bed, putting all those that were focused on his parents to the side, looking for any pictures with 4 people. He moved a picture out of the way when he found it and stilled. That couldn’t be right. In the picture, his parents were in the middle, Shiro to the right and on the left was…

“Hunk?”

Minus his ears and looking younger, the same orange headband was tied around his forehead and Lance’s dad had his arm around his shoulder, the same big smile on his face.

_“Hunk? Lance did you say Hunk?”_

“This is Hunk in the picture. But how? What?”

_“His name is Tsuyoshi. Lance, the guy in the picture was the third member of our band, Tsuyoshi Garret. He died.”_

“Suicide?” Lance asked, already knowing the answer.

_“Yes. I never realised that Tsuyoshi was Hunk. Lance, have you seen him? He was here at the hospital and he disappeared before I could catch him.”_

Lance shook his head, even though Shiro couldn’t see him. It couldn’t be possible. Hunk said he was human at one point, but Lance never realised that it was like this. Hunk had known his parents. He had sung with his dad and Shiro.

“ _Eternal Snow_. His head would hurt when he heard me singing _Eternal Snow.”_

_“Hunk was our singer. He sung Eternal Snow all the time.”_

“I have to go.” Lance said, hanging up his phone and picking up the photo, throwing his barn door open, scaring Pidge. He slammed the photo on the table. “Did you know about this?”

Pidge looked at the photo, her eyes widening. “Did you just find this?”

“After Shiro told me to go looking for it. He said he saw Hunk and when he called him by his name, he took off.”

“His real name? That’s what he was called by?” Sven asked, from where he’d been leaning against the balcony door.

“Yes. Why?”

“If he regains his memories and remembers his death, he’s going to lose his powers. We need to find him. He’ll be confused with all the influx of memories.” Sven explained.

“But where would we even look? The city is huge!” Lance asked, wondering how they could even find Hunk.

“You need to think, was there any place he could even think of going?” Sven questioned.

“I don’t know. He wouldn’t go to my grandmother’s house and I went to so many places at random.” Lance said, when he remembered something. “Wait, there is somewhere he could have gone. The lighthouse I hid when I ran away from home. It was the first time I heard him sing.”

“We need to get to him now!” Pidge yelled.

It felt like a blur getting an Uber to drive them over to where the beach was. Lance knew his apartment wasn’t anywhere near where the beach was, but time seemed to slip like cold syrup, long and almost unmoving. By the time they had arrived at the beach, Lance all but launched himself out of the car, running to the lighthouse. The door was locked but that didn’t stop Pidge from phasing through the door.

“He’s not in here!”

Lance then ran to the stairs, rushing down the stairs until he was on the sand, Sven, Slav and Pidge flying over above him.

“Hunk, where are you?” Lance asked, trying to find anything to find Hunk.

“Lance, over there!” Sven said, spotting a yellow mark hidden in a formation of rocks.

Lance ran, his footsteps uneven with the sand but not stopping until he saw Hunk. He was curled up, his face hidden in his arms, his headband and bag with wings thrown to the side. His whole body was shaking, and Lance could clearly hear Hunk sobbing.

“Hunk!” Lance yelled.

Hunk looked up, his face covered in tears, more tears slipping from his eyes at the sight of Lance. “Lance,” he sniffled, “I hurt him. I hurt him so much.”

Kneeling next to Hunk, Lance asked carefully, “who Hunk?”

“Shiro. I hurt Takashi so much. We lost your parents and I just left him too! How could I have done that? I promised you, Shiro took me to meet you at your foster home and I promised you that I’d be there to protect you whenever you needed me, and I just left! All because Shiro saved my life and had to take my voice to do it. I was so selfish!” Hunk yelled, bursting into tears.

“Hunk, stop! You’re a trainee Shinigami, if you keep remembering your memories you’re going to disappear into a ghost and then no one will be able to see you. Not us, not Lance!” Sven yelled.

“How am I supposed to forget this? They were my family and I just turned my back on them.”

“What about me?” Lance asked. “What if I give you my soul? I mean, that’s what you came for. If I give that to you, will you become a ghost then?”

“It doesn’t matter! You can’t ask me to do that.” Hunk said, sounding angry at Lance for even thinking that.

“What am I supposed to do Hunk? You’re going to disappear! Are you going to break your promise to me again?” Lance yelled.

“That’s why I can’t do it! I promised I’d protect you and that promise stands true now, so don’t you dare tell me to take your soul. I’m already going to be in trouble when the head of our department finds out what I did as well as the Queen of Shinigami. If I’m going to go down, I’m going down keeping my promise! You’re so close to getting to find Akira and I’m not going to let that chance slip because of me.”

“But you remember how you died! Hunk, you’re going to lose your powers!” Pidge said.

“I’m not going to let a memory stop me.” Hunk sniffed, getting up. “Even if I have to use every last bit of power in my body, I’ll keep allowing Lance to sing. I left Shiro alone to do protect you on his own, I’m not doing it anymore. Pidge, you can stop me if you have to but-”

“Shut up you idiot.” Pidge seethed out, her tears filled with tears. “I’m your superior and if you think I’m leaving you here on your own, you’re an idiot. Lance means a lot to me as well so I’m not going anywhere. You on the other hand,” she said to Sven, “can fuck off if you want.”

“And leave you two to take care of this yourselves? If you want to have any hope of getting any leeway from the boss and queen and keep him safe, you need my help. Slav, I can hear you opening your mouth and I’d rather you didn’t. I’m _your_ superior so you’re staying here.”

Lance looked at the 4 Shinigami. “You shouldn’t risk so much for me.”

“Too bad Lance. We’re making sure you get to that doctor and can get that surgery. We broke the rules already, what’s keeping our target alive passed their death day going to be?” Pidge said.

* * *

 

_ “Tsuyoshi was 16 when your dad found him. He was an orphan and he found a father in Seb. His voice, it was still developing but it was like nothing you had ever heard. He was a member of our family. Your mother would dote on him so much, calling him her son. He was the little brother I never had. We stuck together after we lost your parents. He had been scouted by a record company in America and I was going there to finish my doctorate. We were there for a while and I was able to find out about you. We went to see you, see the child we’d been excited for. You probably don’t remember meeting him, you were so young. But you told Tsuyoshi that you loved your parents and you were going to be a singer because that’s what they were and singing made you so happy. He promised that he’d be there for you no matter what and I thought we had a chance to make things happy again. You were sick a lot and I was studying even more so I could help you, Tsuyoshi sure that he’d be ready to move to Japan again when you eventually came so he could be your big brother. _

_ But then, he got sarcoma. In the exact same place yours is. I told him he had to stop singing if he had any chance of living, but I don’t think I ever realised  _ ** just ** _ how much music meant to him. Music was keeping him going after your parents’ death and the cancer was going to steal that from him. The surgery I had suggested for you was what I did on him. I was only focused on saving his life when the cancer started getting bad, but he saw it as a loss of will to live. There wasn’t any music anymore. _

_ I found him on the other side of the fence on the top of the hospital. I begged him not to, tried to get there before he did, but I was too late. I lost my whole family and I threw away music to stop the hurt. I can think of your parents with the usual sadness but whenever I think of Tsuyoshi, all I can feel is guilt. Maybe if I had listened, he’d be happier. The only good thing that came out of it was that he was able to keep his promise, but it’s still a cruel way to do that. _

* * *

 

Lance stood backstage of the venue of the Galaxy Awards, waiting to be called on to perform. In his small corner, he was staring at the picture that revealed everything. Even though Hunk made his loud declaration, he was still crying and almost inconsolable as the memories kept flooding in until he was able to stop them. He said as long as he stopped remembering the memories he wouldn’t be able to fade away.

Shiro had been quiet, still was. Like he couldn’t believe that a person he considered family was still around, but in what he considered to be a punishment. Lance meant what he said to Sven, about having a second chance. But that was starting to feel like a cruel second chance.

“Lance?” a voice called.

Shoving the picture into his boot, Lance turned to see Keith come up to him. “Keith, hi.”

“What are you doing hiding here?” he asked.

Lance shrugged, “trying to calm down. I mean we both perform before the award that’s awarded before the Best Song.”

“Yeah, that’s a bit terrifying to think about.”

Both Lance and Keith’s songs had been nominated for the Best Song Award. Even while Lance was still trying to accept the fact that Hunk had known his parents and everything that went with it, he still had a smile for Keith on his birthday and a hug to give when they found out they had both been nominated.

“It’s a bit scary.” Lance said, trying to keep his smile bright so Keith couldn’t tell something was bothering him.

“Lance, are you ok? You’ve just seemed, down.” Keith asked, crouching down so he was closer to Lance’s eye level.

Lance gave Keith a small shrug. “It’s a lot of things I guess. I found out something about someone close to me that surprised me and then there’s this performance, not to mention finding out who won. Then there’s the chance of going to go see Akira if I do win.”

Keith looked away for a moment before looking back at Lance, an encouraging look on his face. “When you’re on stage, singing to your fans, how do you feel?”

“Like nothing could bother me.” Lance answer truthfully.

“Just focus on the fact your singing for your fans. They are there in the audience as well and they’re the only ones who matter.”

“I know, still doesn’t stop me from being so nervous.”

“Ok, how about this? I’m before you, so just hold onto your necklace and try and feel my energy ok? Just get out there and have fun and that’s all that’ll matter.”

Lance’s hand went to the bow. “I guess I have no choice but to listen to you. You’ve been doing this longer than I have.”

“A good prince knows when to listen to their subjects, your highness. You are going to be perfectly fine.” Keith promised.

“Why is it you always seem to know what I need to hear?” Lance asked.

Keith gave his shrug. “Just good I guess.”

“Red! 1 minute. Isamu, Prince of Altea, be on standby!” a stage hand called, walking through the backstage area so they could be heard.

“Ready?” Keith asked.

“As I’ll ever be.” Lance answered.

The two got up and Keith went to go meet with Regris, who handed Keith a mic, receiving a side pound as they were announced.

“With his song _Tornado_ featuring Hacker, please welcome Red.”

Keith walked out, walking down the steps of the stage as he started singing .

**Waking up as the sun goes down**

**meeting up with some boys in town**

**We're on our way (On our way)**

 

Regris followed Keith down the stairs on the opposite side as he started singing his part.

 

_Celebrating every hot summer night_

_sun fades last ray of light_

_On our way, like everyday_

 

**Rise higher**

**as high as you can**

**Rise higher**

**as high as you can**

 

**_Take my hand, I'll show you where to go_ **

**_Wherever I go_ **

**_Follow me, we're floating to the moon_ **

**_Tornado_ **

 

_Waking up again as the sun goes down_

_getting ready for another round_

_It's Saturday, everyday_

_Wearing all my favourite brands_

_getting ready for a new romance_

_Oh yeah, here we go again!_

 

**Rise higher**

**as high as you can**

**Rise higher**

**as high as you can**

 

**_Take my hand, I'll show you where to go_ **

**_Wherever I go_ **

**_Follow me, we're floating to the moon_ **

**_Tornado_ **

**_Take my hand, I'll show you where to go_ **

**_Wherever I go_ **

**_Follow me, we're floating to the moon_ **

**_Tornado_ **

 

**Waking up as the sun goes down**

**meeting up with some boys in town**

**We're on our way (On our way)**

 

**_Take my hand, I'll show you where to go_ **

**_Wherever I go_ **

**_Follow me, we're floating to the moon_ **

**_Tornado_ **

**_Take my hand, I'll show you where to go_ **

**_Wherever I go_ **

**_Follow me, we're floating to the moon_ **

**_Tornado_ **

 

“Please welcome the prince of our hearts. Isamu, Prince of Altea!”

While Keith entered from the wings of the stage, Lance’s entrance was from a lowered stage, a set of weights locking Lance’s feet down, so he wouldn’t be at risk of falling off.

 

**_Do you know I fell in love with you,_ **

**_I can’t remember, how long has it been?_ **

**_All I know, is this love within my heart,_ **

**_Waiting for you_ **

****

**_Can’t you see, what you mean to me?_ **

**_How I wish you could read my mind_ **

**_All these feelings, I could never find_ **

**_The right words to explain …_ **

****

**_Like the snow, all my love,_ **

**_Falling down from above_ **

**_In time - in time_ **

**_It piles high, as if to touch the sky_ **

****

**_Hold me tight_ **

**_I wish I’d never known your light_ **

****

**_This can’t be right_ **

**_This can’t be how it’s meant to feel_ **

**_But I can’t turn back time now cause_ **

**_I love you_ **

**_I only wish it wasn’t true_ **

**_I wish I could forget - Wish that we’d never met_ **

**_Inside my heart, I know - Eternal Snow_ **

 

**_Do you know, you’re still in my dreams?_ **

**_How much longer till you let me sleep?_ **

**_So I stay awake at the window pane_ **

**_My breath fogging the glass_ **

****

**_Can the snow in my heart,_ **

**_Melt away with the pain?_ **

**_One day – One day_ **

**_I pray that it might_ **

**_Just take one candle’s flame_ **

****

**_Hold me tight_ **

**_Until I break -  I hope I might_ **

****

**_Cause then the wind_ **

**_And cold can’t reach me anymore_ **

**_I only wanna feel nothing_ **

**_I miss you_ **

**_When every thought’s a thought of you_ **

**_And I stand here alone, cause tonight is the same_ **

**_Inside my heart, I know - Eternal Snow_ **

****

**_I wonder if, the falling snow_ **

**_Will numb my heart_ **

**_And if with time, could it hide,_ **

**_These lonely nights and all of my love for you?_ **

****

**_Hold me tight_ **

**_I wish I’d never known your light_ **

****

**_This can’t be right_ **

**_This can’t be how it’s meant to feel_ **

**_But I can’t turn back time now cause_ **

**_I love you_ **

**_I only wish it wasn’t true_ **

**_You can’t be here and I -_ **

**_Shout to the winter sky_ **

**_Inside my heart, I know, Eternal Snow_ **

****

**_Hold me tight_ **

**_Ohh I miss you_ **

**_I love you_ **

****

**_And I stand here alone_ **

**_Cause tonight is the same_ **

**_So fall forever_ **

****

**_Oh eternal snow_ **

As Lance was singing, Shiro was looking for Allura. She had disappeared with Hira and usually he wouldn’t do anything to get into Hira’s way, just so he could avoid her and her still holding anger. He spotted her braided hair and heard the sounds of lips smacking together. He felt slightly bad about interrupting her ‘meeting’ but this was important.

“Allura.” He heard a yelp and a crash before Allura popped out. She was covering her mouth, and all her exposed marks seemed to glow in embarrassment.

“Shiro, what can I help you with?”

“I’m really sorry to interrupt you but I need to talk to you.” He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her into an empty area. “Look. There’s a close chance Lance could win the Best Song Award and get to go to California and if I don’t say this now, it’s going to be even harder for Lance.

Trying to secretly fix her lipstick from when Hira caught her off guard, Allura looked at Shiro in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s about Akira. Did you ever find it weird that even after 10 years, he hasn’t contacted Lance?”

“I never really questioned it. I assumed there was a reason for that.”

“There is. I don’t know how to say this so I’m just going to. Akira’s dead.”

The two stood there in silence, Allura shaking her head in confusion. “What?”

“Akira’s plane to LA, it crashed into the ocean. There had been no survivors. The thing is, Lance knows this.”

“Lance knows Akira is dead? But he, what? That makes no sense.”

“Lance had seen a report on the TV, they had released a manifesto and Lance saw Akira’s name. He refused to believe it and still believes Akira is still out there, waiting for Lance to find him. Thing is, there was a time I thought he would go follow Akira. I tried to get him to understand that Akira was gone but, it was strange and if it wasn’t for the fact that my godson is being followed around by 4 Shinigami and my best friend is one of those, I would think it some sort of freak accident. All the windows in the living room of Lance’s grandmother’s house were broken by this wind that held apple blossoms petals.”

“Apple blossoms?”

“Apple blossoms weren’t even in season, but the wind blew them in when the windows broke. But the scariest thing had been the cold look on Lance’s face. He froze me out and refused to see me. He was getting worse with his cancer and when we got him to the hospital, I told him he had to hold on because Akira was waiting for him. I shouldn’t have encouraged it, but Lance was going to give up if I didn’t.”

Allura took a shuddering breath, “so if Lance wins, he’d be going and chasing ghosts?”

“Lance is going to have to come to terms with his death and I honestly think this will hurt him and I don’t know how to fix this. I hate to hurt him like this, but if we don’t force him into this situation, we’ll be forced to play pretend and continue to hurt him.” Shiro said. “I know this is a lot to ask, but Allura, I need you to help me force Lance to move on.”

Allura shook her head, “I don’t know if I can. I know this is what’s best for him, but 10 years Shiro? Is it even possible?”

“We don’t have a choice but to try. Even if he doesn’t win, I’m going to take him to California to see Dr. Trigal and he needs to know the truth that he’s been avoid for too long.”

“Allura!” the two turned to see Hira walking down the hall to them, her husband waiting for them at the end of the hall. Allura quelled the acid in her heart for even allowing Hira to drag her to that closet when she was with her husband. She didn’t want Shiro to be so close to the tainted side of her. “What are you doing here? They’re going to announce the winner of the Best Song Award soon.”

“Isamu must be wondering where we are. We better get back to him.” Shiro said, putting his hand on Allura’s back so he could guide her back to the audience, not seeing the side glare he was getting from Hira. “I’m sorry I’m putting you in this position, but I can’t do this by myself.” He whispered to her.

Lance was sitting as his table with The Rebels and another Altea Records singer, looking happy when he spotted them.

“I was wondering where you were.”

Allura looked at Lance, this boy who wanted to be a singer so badly, partially so he could see the man he had been holding onto for so long. Allura was holding onto her feelings for Shiro, but she also knew her feelings wouldn’t be returned and accepted it. Lance couldn’t accept that the man he loved was dead.

“Sorry, I was talking to Hira. Apparently, she was trying to find out the results, but I talked her out of it, so she didn’t change the results.” Allura said, taking her seat.

“Probably a good idea. We’ve got a good feeling Isamu’s got this.” Matt said, bumping his shoulder against Lance’s.

“Here to present the award of Best Song, please welcome Enka singer, Ryner.”

In her traditional Olkarian clothes, Ryner crossed the stage to the microphone stand, an envelope in her hand.

“Every new single and album gives us all a new song that becomes our favourite. I’m grateful that we have so many artists willing to share their talents, but some songs have shined more than others, not that it makes them any less special. Here are the nominees for Best Song. _Celebrate_ by The Rebels, _Thirsty_ by Red, _Papermoon_ by Soka, _Eternal Snow_ by Isamu, Prince of Altea and _Attention_ by the Execution Squad.” Lance looked over to where most of the Empire Records singers were, and spotted Ezor, Axca and Zethrid all hold the other’s hand. “And the winner for Best Song is,” Ryner opened the envelop and pulled the paper out, “ _Eternal Snow_ by Isamu, Prince of Altea.”

Lance’s table applauded the loudest, a stray whistle from the Empire Records table as Lance got up and walked up the stairs to the section of stage Ryner was at. He accepted the crystal award, still disbelieving even when holding the heavy award in his hand, and the kiss Ryner pressed to his cheek before he stood in front of the microphone.

“Um, wow. I wasn’t expecting this.” Lance said, “I know I’m standing in front of here and holding this, but it kinda doesn’t feel real.” Ryner leaned over and pinched him. “Ow! Ok thank you. Gez, she teaches me all the things I need to know about being a singer and I never stop getting punished do I?” everyone laughed, and Lance stared to feel less nervous. “But I guess this means it is real, which is still kinda baffling. I was so excited to be able to do this cover because it means so much to me. I do have to thank both my manager Allura and producer Takashi Shirogane. Allura’s been like my sister and protector since day one and Shiro decided to take a chance and come out of retirement to help and I couldn’t be more grateful for either of them. I do have to thank the whole team at Altea Records. I never thought I’d even have the chance to sing for Altea, but they also took a chance on me and I couldn’t be more grateful. I also want to thank all the friends I have in this business. It’s kept me going seeing all of you guys pushing forward with your own songs and projects. And last but certainly not least my fans. You heard this 19 year old guy sing and decided to give him a chance to and I couldn’t be more grateful for each and every one of you. I’m grateful for everyone who decide to give me a chance because I guess it brought me here. Thank you honestly from the bottom of my heart. It’s been confirmed that the winner of this award goes to work with a record company in California and I can go knowing I have all of you supporting me. I won’t let you down. Thank you.”


	22. A Prince's desperation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These last few chapters were written close to the deadline so I feel like they're a lot of info stuffed into one chapter. I'm aslo doing Klance month so hopefully I can get started on the side series of the chapters I wanted to do that would of made the timeline make sense.

Lance stared out the window of the airport. This was it. He was going to America again. Part of him was happy that he was going back to the place he grew up in, but the other part was ready to find Akira. There was a voice in his head trying to tell him something about that, but he shoved it away. He had always shoved it away, not wanting to ever listen to it and remove the ache in his chest that would always be there.

“Here.” Lance turned to see Keith. They had been invited both the Haneda Airport to do a video about the things they had to do while waiting for flights. They’d come 3 hours earlier, so they could come and film, which left Allura a bit frazzled, her manager side trying to keep everyone on schedule. “One Haneda Airport Pikachu.” Keith handed the box that held the dressed Pikachu in it. They hadn’t gotten the chance to go look for the vending machine when filming so Keith offered to run and get him one. Allura and Shiro had already gone through security and Lance knew a lecture was waiting for him.

“Thank you.”

“Think of it as a congratulation present for your win.” Keith said.

“Keith, you took me out for dinner and we hung out on Christmas. If your mom hadn’t come back on New Year’s, we would have spent that day together to. I have all the presents I need.” Lance said with a smile on his face.

“You make it sound like hanging out with me is a hassle.” Keith teased.

“Never. I’m gonna miss hanging out when I’m in America.”

“Then just keep that guy close so you don’t miss me too much.” Keith said, nodding to the Pikachu.

“You as an electric mouse? Totally.” Keith hit Lance on the shoulder, making the singer burst into laughter. “I will. Won’t stop me from missing you though.”

“Yeah, but you’ll be with Akira, soon right?” Keith said, that same forlorn look on his face. Lance felt his heart clench at the sight of it, something bubbling in his chest.

“Keith…” Lance was interrupted by his phone buzzing.

“That’s probably Allura wondering where you are.” Keith said. “Never travel with your manager, makes it ten times worse.”

“Yeah. I better get going before she tries coming back though security to come find me. I’ll see you soon?”

“Yeah.” Keith pulled Lance into a hug, holding him tight before letting go. “Bye Lance.”

“Bye.” Taking the handle of his suitcase he started to head into the area for security, waving to Keith before he disappeared behind a wall. Security was in a different hallway and it was empty, so Hunk changed Lance back before he reached the first check point. Getting through thankfully didn’t take very long, though they did ask to put the tote bag Sven, Hunk, Pidge and Slave were in through the x-ray scan again. They then waved him off and after fitting his feet back into his shoes, he quickly found his gate. Allura was pacing up a storm, Shiro completely calm in comparison.

“There he is.” Shiro said, looking up from his phone as Lance approached them.

“There you are! Boarding starts soon.” Allura reminded.

“Allura, we’re in first class. We’re fine.” Lance said, parking his suitcase near Shiro’s legs, which were propped on his own suitcase and sat down. He opened the box and pulled out the Haneda Airport Pikachu, smiling down at its happy face.

“Said goodbye to Keith then?” Shiro asked.

“Yeah. It’s gonna be weird doing work and not seeing him nearby.” Lance said, leaning back and holding the Pikachu up.

“I’m sure he feels the same way. Don’t worry, I’m sure you two will have tons to talk about when we get back.”

While Lance and the others waited to start boarding, Keith took the elevator to the parking lot, quickly finding Thace’s car. He’d been there to help film, heading back to the car once they were done. Keith saw that he’d grabbed lunch if the crumbled up paper bag and half empty sleeve of fries was anything to go by. He had his feet propped up on the dashboard, which he took down when Keith knocked on the window to be let in.

“Say goodbye then?” Thace asked.

“Should have also said goodbye to my feelings, but those keep holding on.” Keith sighed, slouching in his seat. “he’s going to find the guy he’s been in love with for ages and my heart refuses to let go.”

“Love is like that. It’s never easy and it hurts.” Thace said.

Keith pulled out his phone, fingers finding the two crystal charms Lance had gotten him. One was in the shape of a cat and the other a wolf. While they were both red and blue respectively, they had a stripe of purple around the neck. Keith knew they were to represent his pets, but the colours kept making him think of him and Lance. They wouldn’t make purple though, not when Lance had someone else to be with. Keith was going to have to accept that, no matter how much it ached to.

* * *

 

“So how are we going to get Lance to move on?” Hunk asked.

Shiro looked over his barrier to see Lance curled up asleep, hugging the Pikachu plush. On the other side of the aisle, Hunk, Pidge and Sven were on Allura’s seat.

“Did you know about this?” Allura asked.

“We only found out 2 nights ago.” Sven said, “we knew if we were going to help Lance find Akira, we had to at least know what he looks like.”

“Lance had shown me a picture, so I went to go get it. It’s in this book about astronomy and I didn’t know where the picture was, so I just shook the book, hoping to find something and two things fell out. His picture and a newspaper clipping about a plane crash.” Pidge continued.

“When I saw the picture though. I was once supposed help guide souls to the afterlife but there was one soul who got away. He said that he wouldn’t let me take his soul because he had a promise to keep, a promise to meet the person he loved again. I saw Akira’s picture and I remembered. It was him and I now know that person he wants to see again is Lance.” Hunk explained. “If Lance dies, he’d be getting what he wants, both of them would, to see each other again, but I’m not going to let Lance die. Which means we have to get him to move on.”

“Except we don’t even know if that’s possible. If he hasn’t accepted it for the past 10 years, I don’t know if it’ll even be possible.” Allura said.

“I know, but Allura, if we don’t this is going to start breaking him once he realised he can’t find him. Lance knows the truth, he just has to accept it. I’m scared he’ll push the idea of surgery away if he can’t and I don’t want to lose another member of my family.” Shiro said, glancing over at Hunk.

“We have to try.” Hunk said.

Shiro looked over the barrier again to see Lance asleep in his seat. He never wanted to this but with the chance of saving Lance’s life, he knew he could lose Lance from spending his life trying to find a ghost.

“We’ll have to keep him distracted when we get to California. We’re going to see Dr. Trigel after we land.”

“And he’s not going in to the record company till the day after. Depending on what they work on, he could be there for a while. We’re going to be there for a week.” Allura said.

“Maybe we can find Akira’s parents, the ones that adopted him?” Pidge suggested, “maybe if he talks to them he might be able to move on.” Pidge suggested.

“No. The people that adopted Akira, they picked him up themselves and were on the plane with him.” Shiro said.

“What about Lance’s foster mother?” Allura tried.

“We could try. I think the last time I talked to her, she was now living in California. I don’t know if it’ll help but what choice do we have?”

“-kira.” Shiro looked over to see Lance waking up, his eyes filled with tears.

“Lance? Lance, what’s wrong?” Shiro asked.

Lance wiped at his eyes, and turned to face Shiro, seeing Allura poking over his shoulder. “It’s nothing. I’m fine. Just had a bad dream.”

A dream he’d been having for ages. He’d be chasing Akira but when he caught up to him and grabbed his arm, he disappeared into apple blossoms, leaving Lance alone. Completely alone.

The scent of apple blossoms always sent him into memories of Akira. When he’d first met him, the apple tree in the front yard in the front yard was blossoming. He hadn’t always lived at that foster home. His case manager was bringing him there, but no one was answering, and his young mind was sure he was about to be alone, so he went and pushed himself through the hedge of the backyard, surprising all the kids and his new foster mom, surprising them even more when he loudly introduced himself. After he’d been pulled from the hedge and introduced to his new foster mom, he had burst into tears. Everyone thought he was upset, but it was the opposite, and Akira had been the only one to notice. He’d kneeled down in front of him and wiped his tears away.

“You’re crying because your happy aren’t you, that you’re not alone anymore? I can promise you’ll never be alone anymore. I was really happy when I heard you were coming today, Lance. My name is Akira.” It was those warm brown eyes and kind smile that drew Lance in.

They became inseparable. Whenever his weak body would keep him inside, Akira would be there no matter what. He listened to what Lance would say, always encouraging him, always making him feel safe. They would look up at the sky, Akira telling him all sorts of stories of the sky and space, making Lance’s love for it grow. Lance felt so foolish for not noticing how Akira felt until the night he was going to be officially adopted. Lance didn’t know, thinking they were just stargazing in the sun room. Akira had hugged him suddenly.

“Lance, I want you to remember something, no matter where I am, my soul is with you. I love you.”

“I love you too Akira.” Lance said, not getting what he meant, and Akira could tell.

“That’s not what I mean. Lance you’re not like a little brother to me, your more important than that. You’re the one person I always want to protect. I love you so much it hurts!”

Lance didn’t understand but then Akira’s lips was on his. He had pushed him off and run out of the room, trying to understand what Akira meant and why he had kissed him. When he found out Akira was being adopted and moving to California, it made sense why Akira had told him that then, but Lance didn’t know what to do. He had to say something, but he didn’t know what. The confession had always been on his mind, even when Akira made him promise that when they met again they’d reach their dreams. Then Akira asked him to do the impossible. To forget him.

“I can’t do that! Why would you!” Lance had yelled.

“Then give me an answer Lance. Something.” Lance couldn’t say anything, and Akira gave him a small smile and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Good bye Lance. I won’t forget you.” And then he was gone. Lance didn’t know why it was then that he knew what he wanted to say. That he wanted to tell him he loved him, that he didn’t want him to leave. But Akira had gotten onto the flight and his foster mother took him home, promising Akira would call soon. But he didn’t. When Lance ran into the living room to ask his foster mother if Akira called yet, there on the TV was a news report about a plane to California that the engine exploded and fell into the ocean. The manifesto list of passengers was scrolling on the screen and there was Akira’s name. Akira was gone, and Lance had never told him how he felt.

There was a reason he was more afraid to not sing than to die. He’d never forget about Akira because forgetting about him was not living. If he died, Akira would be there, waiting for him.

* * *

 

“You didn’t have to come.” Shiro told Allura as they waited for Adam to come meet them in the lobby of the hospital they were at.

“I don’t know America, I’m sticking close.” Allura said, taking a sip of her coffee, grimacing in disgust.

“Just a heads up, no matter where you go. Hospital coffee will always taste horrible.” A voice said, Lance and Shiro brightening at the sound out it.

“Adam!” Lance yelled, launching out of his seat and jumping to hug him.

Adam caught him, spinning him around. “It’s so good to see you again.” He stopped spinning Lance and pulled away to get a better look at him. “Look at you, you got so much bigger last time I saw you. God, wish I was this good looking at 17.”

“We can’t all have amazing genes.” Lance teased.

“Watch it mister.”

“Oh, Adam, this is Allura. She’s the manager for Isamu, the singer Shiro’s the producer for.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Adam greeted, shaking her hand.

“Nice to meet you as well. You’d think I’d be used to bad coffee. Most stations have watery coffee.” Allura said looking at her cup.

“Hospital coffee will always be bad. Have you been involved in music for a very long time? You look so familiar.”

“Oh, I used to be a singer, but not for very long so it’s not surprising if you don’t recognise me.”

“Wait a second, Empress of Altea, Juniberry. You would wear a flower crown of juniberry flowers, I remember that.” Allura looked surprised that Adam even knew that. “I was pretty into music around the Paladins height of music. I was pretty upset your career didn’t last long. You were an amazing singer.”

“Thank you.” Allura thanked. “Um, I’ll be out here while your get checked out.”

“Are you sure?” Lance asked, Allura nodding. “Alright. We’ll be back.”

“Come on Lance, Dr. Trigel is waiting to meet you.” Adam said.

Allura watched Adam and Shiro guide Lance and she sat back down.

“You’re upset.” Allura looked over to see Sven sitting on the seat next to her. She picked him up and placed him on her lap, pulling out her headset out and placing one side in her ear so she wouldn’t get weird looks.

“What makes you ask that? And aren’t you supposed to be with Lance?”

“Pidge and Hunk are with him. When you introduced yourself to Adam, you looked, well, upset. Do you not like Adam?”

Allura scoffed. “Adam is perfect. I mean Shiro wanted to marry him for a reason.”

“So that’s it. You like Shiro.”

Allura looked away from those knowing eyes of Sven. “Since I first met him, I liked him. Then I got to meet him. He seemed bothered and I asked if I was being a bother and Shiro just looked at me with the kind smile and said no, that Seb was being much. I happened to meet him in person the same day Seb, Lance’s dad, announced that he was getting married and having a child. When I heard he was having troubles deciding what to do in term of still going to medical school, I left him a letter, but I don’t think he even knows it was from me. He can’t stand me, he’s rude and just always tries to get away from me. I guess acting a bit like of a fan doesn’t help but I didn’t think he’d be like this. Besides, if he knew what I did, he’d never want to be near me.”

“What’s that?” a voice from behind her asked, making her screech out in surprise, Sven flying off her lap. She turned to see Adam, turned in the seat behind her.

“Wh-what are you doing here? I thought you went to go take Shiro and Lance to go see Dr. Trigel.”

“She met us half way and I’m not needed until she pages me. Sorry, but I happened to hear you. So, you’re the one who wrote him that letter.” Adam said, seeming a bit apologetic.

“You know about that?”

“Well we were engaged. But you must really like him to be in the spotlight of all that harshness. Takashi can be pretty bad sometimes.”

Allura groaned. “There’s something wrong with me. I just want him to notice me. Maybe if he did, maybe I could find it in myself to move on. But part of me still wants a chance.”

“It’s not like you don’t.”

“Trust me, not with what I do. Besides, he was with you for so long, that obviously means something.”

Adam nodded, “true, but we broke up. It’s not like he didn’t love me, we just realised that we were comfortable with each other, but something was holding him back. I think he still thinks about the person who wrote him the letter. I think he might have wanted to thank the person who pushed him to do what he loved. If they hadn’t and Takashi just decided to stay with music, Lance wouldn’t be where he is. I wouldn’t give up just yet.”

“You really think I have a chance?” Allura asked, slightly in disbelief.

“I think you should at least tell him about the letter. So, how about I get you a decent cup of coffee? I have a Keurig in my office.” Adam asked.

Giving a small smile and picking Sven up, Allura nodded. “You’re pretty strange, trying to get your ex-fiancée a girlfriend.”

“What can I say, I like seeing him happy.”

While Adam and Allura bonded, Lance sat as still as possible as Dr. Trigel looked at his throat. She was an alien from the Dalterion Belt, her gold eyes taking in what was in Lance’s throat.

“You can close your mouth now.” She told Lance before turning to Shiro. “The treatment you’ve been giving him to suppress the cancer has been very effective. There is still need for surgery. Because of his age and physical health, it’ll be hard, but I believe this surgery will be perfect him.” She looked at Lance, “you’ll need to prepare mentally for this. You need to have complete faith in the hospital and your doctor.”

“I do. I know Shiro will take care of me.” Lance said.

“Then that’s half the battle done already. Do you have an idea when you want to do this?”

“Well, the singer Shiro works with said he wanted to do a concert in July, the 27th.”

“That’s quite a ways away.” Dr. Trigel said.

“I know, but I want Shiro to do this surgery and he’s going to need time to learn how to do it.” Lance pointed.

“That is true. Is that ok with you Dr. Shirogane?”

“It’s hard to say no to him. I will move it up if it turns out to be better for him.” Shiro said, Lance nodding in agreement.

“Well, I guess that’s everything. Shall we?”

Lance nodded getting up. He knew recovery would take a while, but he felt like he owed his fans one last concert and he hoped he didn’t jump the date of when he was supposed to die. Hunk had said a few months after they met, so he hoped he could hold out until then.

* * *

 

“Your English is very good.” A member of staff told Lance as he and Allura were being lead to a conference room.

“Thank you. I was born here and lived here for a few years before I moved to Japan.” Lance explained.

“Oh yeah, I think I heard something like that. How are you liking America?”

“California is different from where I grew up but it’s still pretty amazing. I’m glad for no snow though.” Lance joked.

“We all are, though we could do without the cold winds. Here we are. Isamu, this is the Maker Room as we like to call it, and this is Star. She’s creates the music for most of the lyrics here. We heard that you write your own music and we thought the two of you would like to make a song together.”

“Of course. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Isamu.”

The human with multicoloured hair, shook his hand. “Nice to meet you too. I heard your music, you’re a fantastic singer. Congrats on your win.”

“Thank you.”

“I will admit, Red’s version of _Eternal Snow_ is really good.” Star admitted.

“I know. I like his version better too. He keeps saying my own is better though.” Lance said.

“Must be fun being able to compete with your boyfriend.”

“Oh, uh, Red isn’t my boyfriend. We’re not dating.” Lance said.

“Oh, I’m sorry. My mistake. Let’s get to work, shall we?”

“Sure.”

Working with Star was fun. It was different from working with either Shiro or Kolivan who’d come up with the music themselves. Star said she liked coming up with the music first before the lyrics. Lance watched her bring different beats together, first starting out slow then bring the tempo up. He wasn’t much of a dancer though he did enjoy the dancing he did during his solo live concert, but the music was something he wanted to dance to.

“So, what do you think we want to say with this song?” Star asked.

“Um?” what did he want to say? He wanted his song here to mean something, mean something about being here. The only thing he could think of was Akira. “I’m waiting for you. Like there’s someone who was coming to find me and is taking a long time.”

“We talking heartfelt love or heartache love?”

“Both? Your heart aches because they’re not there but you want to tell them how much you love them.

“That’s…deep.” Star said, staring at Lance.

“Sorry.” Lance said.

“No, no, that’s good. I work with a lot of singers and I sometimes feel like they don’t have any soul in their music, like they’re not putting any feelings into it. That’s why I was happy that I found out I’d work with you. There are a few singers who put their feeling in their music, but you do that so easily.”

“Thanks.”

“Oh also, I’m just spit balling here, but whoever your waiting for, I hope they find you soon right.” Star said kindly.

“Thanks.” Lance said, thinking of where Akira had to be. Did it make him a horrible person to want to live than be with Akira? He had so much here but to be with Akira, that’s what he wanted more than anything.

The rest of the meeting seemed to glide by and before Lance knew it, he was back at the hotel, curled up in his room. Shiro was at the hospital, learning from Dr. Trigel and in an odd turn of events, Allura was apparently hanging out with Adam. All Lance knew was that Shiro had gotten in contact with his former foster mother and he’d be seeing her the next day. He missed her, but the thought of her kept bring up memories of Akira. She tried to tell him Akira was gone, and she was the first one he lashed out, refusing to believe it. How could he? Akira promised they’d see each other when they reached their dreams and Lance had reached his. He was singing, so why wasn’t Akira there?

Lance got up off the bed and climbed out, sticking his feet into the shark slippers he brought with him. He grabbed a key card and left the room. There was no Hunk and Pidge to ask him where he was going because they were out doing something. He didn’t know what the pair of Shinigami were doing but he did know they were being pretty quiet, like they knew something and were hiding it. He didn’t know what it would be, and he was curious, but he didn’t even tell them that they were sticking around helping Lance chase a dead dream, hoping to reach Akira. He took the elevator and walked outside to the poolside. The lights in the pool lit the water, making it glow. Lance sat at the edge, pulling his feet out of his slippers and pulled his pants up to stick his feet in the water, pulling his hoodie closer to him. He tried to quite his mind as he stared at the water, but he noticed in his reflection that he was still wearing the necklace Keith gave to him. He didn’t know why Keith looked so, sad whenever he mentioned Akira. He didn’t like seeing Keith sad. If the stunt he pulled going to Keith’s mom said anything, it said that he’d do whatever he could to see Keith happy. It felt good to see Keith happy, good to know he was the reason for his good mood.

Why though? Why was it like that for Lance? Did it mean something for what Keith meant to him? Did he matter more than Akira did? No, he loved Akira. But there was something about Keith that he didn’t want to let go of. But what was it?

“In many realities you would be drowning in this pool right about now.”

“Ah! Slav! You scared me.” Lance said, watching the worm like Shinigami float around him. “What are you doing here? Allura took Sven with her –  I don’t know why – but I thought you’d be with him. I mean that you’re supposed to be the scarf to his wolf.”

“I don’t need to stay there and listen to all the dirty deeds she gets up to. She does enough of that in other realities.”

“Huh?”

“What’s got your thoughts?” Slav asked, ignoring Lance’s question. “Shouldn’t you be getting rest to go see your old foster mother tomorrow?”   

“I can’t sleep. Just old memories going around in my head.” Lance said looking away from Slav.

“Memories about Akira? About how he’s no longer around?” Lance slowly looked up at Slav. Slav didn’t look like he was being callus or spiteful, just the same as he always was. “He’s dead right? That’s what Hunk was saying. They were talking to Allura and Shiro, saying that they were scared you were going to follow Akira. They all are.”

Lance pulled his feet out of the water and stumbled back inside, his chest feeling tight. They knew, they knew, and they hadn’t said anything. He knew it was true, but he couldn’t believe it. How could he? That voice that he always kept locked away was trying to break free, trying to get him to see reason and accept it but he refused to let it loose. The scent of apple blossoms was filling his nose. If he could smell the scent of Akira, he couldn’t be far. That’s why he couldn’t let go of him. He wouldn’t. He stormed into the room, seeing the lights were on and Shiro was sitting on his bed.

“Lance? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he spit out, “it’s nothing. I’m going to bed.”

“Where are your slippers?” Shiro asked.

“I said I’m going to sleep!” Lance yelled, surprising Shiro.

“S-sorry.” Shiro said, “I’ll turn the lights out and change in the bathroom ok?” silence was all that he got in return and that worried Shiro. He could only hope what he would do the next day wouldn’t upset Lance worse.

* * *

 

Lance looked up at the house in front of him. It was so different from the house he grew up, but that wasn’t surprising. His foster mom had moved, bringing the kids with her, those who hadn’t been adopted or taken in by another family. He knew she would be making sure they were in safe places. Once a kid of Rachel’s, always a kid of hers. He opened the gate and like she had been waiting by the door, it swung open revealing her. Lance took in the sight of her, her long curly hair pulled back in a ponytail. Lance was sure he had decided that blue was his favourite colour because of how often she would wear it, like she was now. Her hazel eyes filled with tears as she held open her arms.

“Lance!”

“Rachel!” Lance flung the gate open and ran into her arms. She still smelled like the ocean, familiar and safe. “I missed you.” He said.

“I missed you too. Oh, look at you! You’re so tall. I always knew you’d be taller than me one day.” She said pulling away to put her hands on his cheeks, her eyes taking him in. “You’ve grown so much. Your grandmother didn’t tell me enough about our calls when I’d call to check how you were. She wasn’t answering for the past few months and I got worried.”

“I um, I used my right to the Shouto Guardianship Law. Something happened, and I needed to get away.” Lance explained.

“What? The Guardianship Law? What happened? Are you ok?” Rachel threw out, looking shocked.

“I’m fine, Shiro took care of me.” Lance said, calming her down.

“I do wish it didn’t come to that.” Shiro said as he approached them. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person Rachel.”

“It’s nice to meet you too. I’m glad he was taken care of. Come on in, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

Lance followed Rachel in, already falling into the old habit of putting his shoes on the nearby shoe rack. It looked like the one Rachel had for the kids, if the faded crayon marks were anything to go by. Rachel was quiet as she led him into the dining room where two people sat waiting.

“Lance, this is Anna and Erik Steel.” Steel? Why did their last name sound familiar? “These are the people who were supposed to be Akira’s grandparents.”

Lance turned to Rachel in stunned silence before looking back at the couple sitting at the table. Their eyes held this sad look even they both gave him smile.

“It so nice to meet you.” Anna spoke. “We’ve heard so much about you.”

“What?” Lance asked, staring at them, not moving.

“When our daughter and her husband were going to adopt Akira, he’d write us letters, telling us about him. He mentioned you so much. He even sent us this picture of the two of you.” Anna reached inside her purse and pulled out a photo, sliding it towards Lance. He took a few steps forward and gazed down at the picture, looking at him and Akira cuddled together in a blanket fort. Lance was staring right at the camera, but Akira was looking at him.

“He seemed to love you very much from what we gathered. Rachel told us about how close you were, and I know you had to feel the same way when you lost him. it’s been hard for us, but I find talking about them helps.”

Lance didn’t want to hear anymore. Why did they keep doing this, acting like Akira was gone? Why were they forcing him to listen to this?

When Lance turned and ran out of the house, Shiro called out and ran after him. He barely had enough time to get his feet into his shoes before Lance was turning the corner of the street. Shiro didn’t know if he could be thankful for Lance’s set of weak lungs allowing him to finally catch up and grab Lance by the arm, turning him to grab them both.

“Lance, stop!”

“NO!” Lance shoved Shiro away from him, his eyes angry and glaring at he stared Shiro down. “Why do you keep doing this? Why do you keep telling me he’s gone? He’s not! Akira is still here! I can still smell his scent, he still has to keep his promise! Why do you keep trying to make me forget him!”

Lance’s head snapped to the side with the force of Shiro slapping him. Lance held his stinging cheek and turned his watery eyes to Shiro, who looked remorseful and guilty.

“You said he’d come back. You told me he was.”

“Because you were going to let yourself die if I didn’t. You refused to believe me when I first told you and your cancer was getting worse because you wouldn’t see me until your grandmother had to force you into an ambulance. I shouldn’t have encouraged it, but I told you to hold on for him. I should of never of done that but Lance, you need to accept this. Akira is gone and he’s not coming back. If you keep holding onto the idea that he is, you are going to keep hurting yourself and I’m not about to lose you. It kills me to see you have to hold this hurt in, but this isn’t right Lance. So please stop because if I had lost you, I wouldn’t be able to take this. I lost your parents and I lost Hunk. I can’t lose you too.”

Tears fell from Lance’s eyes and he let out a sob before he dissolved into tears. He let Shiro sweeping him into his arms.

“Why isn’t he here? Why?” Lance sobbed.

“I’m sorry Lance. I’m so sorry.” Shiro said, holding his godson tighter.

* * *

 

“I can’t believe I’m doing this. This song should have been recorded in America, not you cutting the trip short and coming back here.” Hira snapped, walking around her desk to where Allura was standing and trapping her against the edge. “Why am I sending you up to mountain side recording studio?”

“Correction, I sent them up there and now I’m asking for your permission. There was a family issue that brought Isamu back and the people down at Famous Records even offered to come up here to work with us at the recording studio. They’re sending the person he worked with, Star.” Allura said, turning her head from the angry look on Hira’s face.

“Yes, I know, good for us. I just don’t understand why I’m catering to Isamu so much.”

“If you want to say no, you didn’t have to sign the contract they sent you. He’s still doing the song, just in a different place. I wasn’t going to keep him there and force him to the studio.” Allura defended.

Hira stared her down before moving away. “Fine. I’m just upset that my husband is expecting me at home because I was hoping to steal you away.”

“They’re expecting me up there and it’s a drive away, so I have to go.” Allura said, grabbing her stuff and leaving, not seeing the narrowed look she was getting from her secret lover.

As she started her drive to where Lance and Shiro were with the rest of the team, Keith climbed into the backseat of Thace’s car.

“Keith, if that wolf of your drools all over my back seat, you’re cleaning it up.”

Keith rolled his eyes as he leaned over the top of the middle seats where he and his mother were sitting, fixing the towel for Kosmo to lay on. He could still hear Snap meowing loudly from her carrying pod by his mom’s feet. “Down,” he ordered as he finished and Kosmo laid on the towel and started to chew on the toy in his mouth. He sat down in his seat and opened Snap’s carrier, moving so she could jump out.

“I’m a bit confused. You released your deluxe album not that long ago and are recording new songs already. Why is your record company sending you to the mountains?” his mom asked.

“Because that’s where Isamu is going, and they don’t want to be pushed out with what Altea is doing. It’s basically a vacation for us.” Keith answered pulling out his phone to see if he got an answer from Lance, which he hadn’t. He’d been surprised when he heard Lance had come back early. The trip was supposed to be for a week, more if the work at Famous Records took longer, but he was back in 4 days and Famous Records was sending people here to Japan to work with Lance at one of the Altea Records mountain recording studios and houses. He was feeling like this was payback for when he hadn’t answered Lance but that also worried him. If it was for the same reasons, something happened in America.

“Do we have everything?” Ulaz asked from the passenger side.

“I suppose so. We’re going to need to get groceries, aren’t we?” Krolia asked.

“Yeah. We can head to the house and drop things off and then go back out.” Thace said, turning on the radio.

_“Now we have the special track that was available on the deluxe album of Red’s Thirsty album, Rise. It’s his second Korean song on the album and we’re all a little curious if there’s someone in this Galran singer’s heart he’s singing this to. Please enjoy Red’s_ Rise _.”_

**bameul galla naye changeul dudeuryeojugil**   
**yakaejineun maeum teume meomulleojugil**   
**saegi byeonhaneun haneul arae**   
**supyeongseon neomeo nasseon gose**   
**gaseumsogeul gadeuk chaeun geu bicheul hyanghae**

There was someone in Keith’s heart. Lance. Try as he might, he couldn’t get rid of the feelings no matter how hard he tried. It had been one of the times he’d gone and talked to his mom about something personal. They were still fixing their relationship and it was that moment he really needed his mom.

“Love isn’t something you can just get rid of Keith. No matter how much you really want it because of how confusing it is and how it makes you feel. If you like Lance, you can’t change that unless you realise you have changed your feelings. But I can tell you’re not changing how you feel about Lance anytime soon.”

“But he loves someone else.”

“Then the most you can do is try to forget how you feel. It will not be easy by any means. I just hope it doesn’t strain your relationship.”

Keith didn’t want that either but how was he supposed to move on when the thought made him sick? He glanced down at his phone; still no new messages. He didn’t know how he was expected to feel better without any call from Lance. he missed him like crazy and now he was filled with worry and no way to find out if things were ok without any word from Lance.

* * *

 

Star listened to Isamu sing, watching him with critical eyes. Shiro tried to also keep watching him but with him playing the keyboard so Lance could practise the song, his focus was split.

“How was that?” Lance asked when he finished. His eyes were glazed, and his entire demeanour was low. Hunk felt worried as Lance’s grip on him as he sat on his lap was weak and loose. He’d been like that since Shiro brought him back from the hotel. Barely talking, quiet and his singing had almost no feeling.

“Is everything ok? Your singing is lacking that feeling we were talking about.” Star said.

“I don’t know. I feel…fine.” Lance asked. Star didn’t look like she believed him.

“It’s getting pretty late. Maybe we should just stop for the day. I mean he’s got the lyrics down. It should be fine for recording. I don’t want to keep forcing you. The only thing I can suggest is come here with a clear head and a full heart.”

“Sure.” Lance got up off the stool he’d been sitting on and handed Shiro the sheet music. “I’ll be in my room.” Lance said before walking out.

“I know it’s not my place but is everything ok? He just seems really, different.” Star asked.

“I want to say things are ok, but they’re not. I don’t know if things are going to get better anytime soon but I can only hope. Would you like it if I treat you to dinner? Allura still isn’t here and I know Isamu isn’t going to come out of his room anytime soon.” Shiro offered.

“Sure. I’ve always wanted to have dinner with a member of the Paladins.” Star gushed.

“Great.” Shiro drawled. He’d put up with an overzealous fan if it meant that Hunk could have a chance to help Lance feel better.

Not like he was succeeding. Once Lance had gotten into his room, he dropped onto his bed and hadn’t moved. Hunk didn’t know what to do, he was at a complete loss. Sven and Pidge weren’t around, out flying around but he didn’t think they’d be any help. He needed to think.

“Lance, I’m gonna go out for a while. Will you be ok?” he asked, leaning over Lance. He waited until he saw a small nod and nodded to himself. He looked over to where Slav was curled up like a cat. “Can I trust you not to drive him insane with your realities and statistics?”

“I resent that.” Slav said insulted.

“I need an answer.” Hunk shot back.

“I can keep an eye on an unmoving human.”

Hunk glared at Slav, but he couldn’t even disagree with the statement. “I’ll be back soon Lance.” With no movement from Lance, Hunk phased through the wall and fly out into the night.

Lance stayed silent, not moving. Then he smelt it, apple blossoms.

“Akira.” He breathed before he moved. “Slav,” he said louder, “can you go and get Hunk? I can’t find my Rover charm and it’s not a huge emergency.”

“Do I look like a messenger?”

“Slav please?”

Slav let out an annoyed huff, “fine. Stay here, I’ll be back.”

Once Slav was gone and Lance was sure he was completely alone, he got up off the bed and went over to his duffle bag that had half of what his suitcase to LA had. He picked up a few things and shoved the into the bag, zipping it closed. He looked over to the music box and the slightly crumpled picture of his parents and the whole band at the wedding. He looked away, feeling hesitant to pick up the sheets of paper but did, picking up the nearest pen and started to write. When he was done, he folded them and left them and the small Rover on the bedside table. His hand brushed over the music box before he left the room.

“I’m sorry.”

Rain was pouring outside, which kept everyone inside, but Lance didn’t pass by anyone on his way out, so no one questioned why a kid they had never seen before was walking out of the studio. Lance didn’t let the hard raindrops bother him as he walked down the highlway. He remembered seeing a bus stop on his way here in Shiro’s car and he knew he had to get home. He still had to leave a message for his grandmother and Coran. He regretted that he couldn’t fully fix things with his grandmother, even when Shiro brought back a present from her after he delivered a ticket for Coran and the shawl Lance knitted for his grandmother for Christmas. She loved him, he knew that now, but she let her anger with music control her at times. He couldn’t tell how long he’d been walking for, but he saw the shape of the bus stop in the distance and started to drift off the sidewalk to cross the street. When he saw beams of light breaking through the heavy rain, Lance stumbled away, tripping and falling down, hearing the sound of tires screeching to a stop.

“Hey! Are you ok?” a voice asked, getting close to him. “Lance?”

Lance looked up to see a very wet Keith looking down at him. In panic, he turned his face, trying to figure out how to explain himself when he heard Keith get closer and crouch down next to him.

“It’s Lance, right? Are you ok?”

Keith didn’t know who he was? Right, because he was regular Lance, not Altean singer Lance. He was the fan Keith meet once.

“Yeah. Yes, I’m fine. I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Come on,” Keith helped him up and Lance glanced over to see Krolia standing outside the driver’s side of the car. What was Keith even doing here with his mother? “Let’s get you back to the house.”

“Huh?”

“It’s pouring outside and the house my family is staying at isn’t far from here.”

Lance couldn’t really protest as Keith corralled him into the back seat of the car. Lance felt bad with the water he was getting everywhere and when he spotted the bags of groceries, he started to feel worse. Keith kept looking back looking like he wanted to ask questions, but Lance kept turning his gaze, so Keith kept the questions in. soon they were pulling into the drive way of a cabin house. It was smaller than the one Lance was at, no doubt because there wasn’t a recording studio inside. Keith got out, guiding Lance to the house and quickly sticking the key in the door before pushing the door open.

Kosmo was waiting for them, barking at them. Lance remember the first time he’s met Kosmo, he jumped at Lance, making him drop Hunk and Pidge, the latterwho had then kidnapped by the wolf and Keith had to go chasing him across his apartment to make him drop her. Pidge hadn’t been happy and refused to ever come with Lance back to Keith’s apartment.

“Kosmo, down.” Keith ordered, the wolf sliding to his stomach, his gold eyes fixed on Lance. He was sure that if Snap had recognised his scent, a cosmic wolf would totally recognise him. “Thace, Ulaz, can you come here?”

Lance felt panic grow again as he heard the familiar name then saw the familiar tall Galra. How the hell was he supposed to know Ulaz was Keith’s godson? Ulaz mentioned having a godson who was a singer, but he failed to mention it was Lance’s favourite singer! And why the hell did Keith never mention Thace’s husband name? He knew Ulaz recognised him but didn’t say anything as Thace approached him.

“Its Lance isn’t it? What are you doing way out here? Your both soaked.”

“We almost ran Lance over on our way back. Can you guys get him dry while mom and I get the groceries?”

“I got him. You go help them, the sooner we’re all back inside, the better.” Ulaz told Thace. His husband listened to him and put his shoes on and followed Keith outside, leaving Lance and Ulaz alone. “I hope you have a good explanation for this Lance.”

“I’m with Shiro.” Lance said, knowing that hadn’t been the best thing to say once it was out of his mouth.

“And why are you here and not with him? If I remember my places correctly from when Thace was pointing everything out, the cabin that Altea owns is farther up but you’re down here. Why are you here then?”

“Um, uh…” Lance didn’t have an answer. What could he say?

Ulaz sighed and gestured him forward. “Let’s get you dry. I’ve seen enough of you at the hospital with colds and I don’t want to be responsible for another.”

Lance just changed out of his wet clothes, letting Ulaz put them into the drier. Most of his things in his duffle bag were dry but he was still handed a pair of Keith’s clothes to change into. It was strange how it still annoyed Lance that Keith was taller then as he pulled the legs of the sweatpants up, but they still bunched around his feet. The sweater was nice to be swallowed in though.

_‘I won’t be able to do this anymore, just be surrounded by Keith. He’s become so important to me but I’m leaving him without any explanation. I hope Keith can forgive me for this.’_

Snap was waiting for him when he opened the door, the towel that covered his head making him unaware of the cat till the red ball of fluff jumped up at him, making him scramble to grab her.

“Snap doesn’t look like she’s forgotten you.” Keith said as Lance walked into the living room, towelling his own hair.

“No, she doesn’t.” Lance said, dropping her on the couch and sitting down, where she climbed onto his lap.

“That’s my mom,” Keith said, pointing to Krolia who was bringing over two mugs. She handed one to Keith and the other to Lance.

“Nice to meet you.” Lance said.

Krolia stared at Lance and Lance hopped she couldn’t tell who he was. She was a full blooded Galra, their senses were off the charts. “Nice to meet you as well.” She replied. “You should call those you’re supposed to be with, so they don’t worry.”

“Uh, right. I did in the bathroom.” Lance lied.

“That’s good. We’re about to start dinner, we hope you’re not too hungry not to wait.”

“I’m fine.” Lance lied again. He wanted to leave but the idea of just spending a few more minutes with Keith was keeping him still. Plus, the idea of what Ulaz would do if he didn’t keep up appearances.

Krolia went into the kitchen, leaving Keith and Lance alone, the only other witnesses to their silence being the furry animals. Kosmo was on the other side of the couch where Keith was sitting, his eyes still on Lance.

“Hey, I’m actually glad I got to meet you again.” Keith said, breaking the silence. Lance looked over at him in confusion and Keith gave him a thankful smile. “I had taken your advice and talked to Isamu. It was what we both needed, talking to each other. We were able to make up and it was the best thing. If you hadn’t pushed me to talk to him, I don’t we would have been able to talk, and I wouldn’t have been able to ask for forgiveness.” Seeing the look on Keith’s face, the look of happiness that he and Keith had been able to talk again after the Mermaid Tear incident, it pained Lance. He wouldn’t see that look for much longer and that hurt him like crazy.

“Isamu must be really lucky to have you as a friend. He must think you’re really important” Lance said because he was, he was so lucky to have Keith in his life.

“I guess. I mean I don’t think I’m the most important thing. I think someone else takes that spot.” Keith said, the damn forlorn look on his face, the one that hurt Lance to see. “But he’s the most important thing to me. He’s this person who keeps pushing forward even when things are against him. He’s so stubborn and unwilling to give up. You can’t help but admire him.” Keith said, the ache in Lance’s heart growing more.

“Keith? Did you bring in the eggs? They were in the front seat and now I can’t find them.” Krolia called from the kitchen.

“One second,” he told Lance, getting up and heading to the kitchen.

Lance could have stayed there, stayed with Keith just a bit longer, but he couldn’t. By the time Keith came back into the living room, a complaint about how 3 full blooded Galra couldn’t find a carton of eggs right in front of them, Lance was gone, leaving only an open window and a cooling mug of tea.

* * *

 

“All the rain was making it hard to see and we have no clues to where Lance could even be. We have to find him before Shiro gets back to the house.” Pidge said, the 4 Shinigami all tense. They had come back to an empty room, the mini Rover sitting on top of a stack of letters addressed to them, Allura, Shiro and the staff at the studio.

“’It’s time for us to part’? Not on my watch.” Hunk said, angry with himself for leaving Lance when he was like this. He should have never left.

“Do we have any right to stop him?” Sven said quietly, making Pidge and Hunk turn to him.

“What? What did you say?” Pidge asked.

“We don’t know how Lance heard about Akira, back when we were in America. We don’t know how he found out about how we knew but he found out. Even now, even after 10 years, he refused to acknowledge the fact that he’s gone. That’s why he keeps running away from everything. We’d be doing him a favour leaving him alone. I mean we ended our lives, we shouldn’t we stop him from ending his. It’s his choice.” Sven explained.

“So, you don’t regret it? You don’t regret leaving the life you had? Well I do. I left one of my best friends and I broke my promise to the boy who’s my brother. I don’t want him to share the same fate so it’s my right to stop him from following in our footsteps. Come on Pidge.” Hunk ordered, flying up. Pidge gave Sven a look before following her partner.

The two flew through the skies, looking for any sign of Lance when Rover, who’d been flying next to Pidge, let out a loud string of beeps.

“Rover? What is it?” Rover dived heading for something. That something was Lance, sitting at damp bus station. “It’s Lance! Lance!” Pidge and Hunk followed Rover.

Hearing the beeps and shouts, Lance looked up, eyes widening at the sight of the Shinigami. He grabbed his bag and took off towards the beach.

“Leave me alone!” he shouted.

“Hunk what are we going to do?” Pidge asked.

Hunk took in the back of the shirt Lance had on. The mark on the back of it made it obvious who it belonged to, since he knew for a fact Lance didn’t have a Red tour sweater.

“Keep following him and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid. I’ll be right back!”

“What? Hunk, where the hell are you going?” Pidge groaned in frustration. She turned and followed Lance, who was nearing the set of steps that would have taken him down to the sand.

Hunk flew as fast as he could. If he was right and Lance had been with Keith, then Keith had to be nearby. He just hoped Lance didn’t say goodbye or anything to keep Keith away. Then he spotted him, flashlight in hand, Kosmo nearby sniffing away, a worried look in his face.

“Lance? Lance, where are you?”

“Oh, thank god. Come on Keith, if we can’t stop Lance, we know you have a better choice of doing it.” With that, Hunk swooped down and snatched the beanie on Keith’s head off flying back towards Lance.

“Hey! Come back here!” Keith yelled, chasing after his flying beanie. “I don’t have time for this. Get back here!”

Hunk didn’t listen, hoping Pidge had been able to stop Lance before getting to the beach.

“Lance, stop!” he heard Pidge yell.

“Shit! Lance, don’t you dare do something stupid.” He was close to the beach and saw Pidge stationary, screaming at Lance as he started stepping into the water. Checking to see Keith was still coming, he threw the beanie down into the sand and snapped his fingers, changing Lance.

“What? What are? What are you doing Hunk? Turn me back!” Lance demanded, seeing how had changed. “I don’t want to be like this!”

“Lance? Lance, what are you doing?”

Lance looked to see Keith jumping over the stairs and running towards him.

“No, don’t come any closer!” Lance yelled backing away, Keith stopping at the edge of the waves.

“Hunk, why did you bring him here?” Pidge asked.

“There was no note for him and you know how much Keith means to him. Lance has ignored what we’ve told him before. We know everything about him, so he won’t listen to us. Keith doesn’t.”

“You think he might listen to him?” Pidge asked.

“What choice do we have? Keith can force him to stop if he needs to. We haven’t been able to since we got back.” Hunk said. He was desperate. Lance would run away from either of the Shinigami or he’d beg for them to take his soul to be with Akira. Keith couldn’t do that for Lance. There was a chance Keith could stop Lance.

“Lance, what’s wrong? Talk to me.” Keith begged.

“He’s gone Keith.”

“Who is? Lance, who’s gone?”

Lance looked at Keith with watery eyes, “Akira. He’s gone. He’s been gone for so long.”

“What do you mean? Lance, what happened to him? I thought you were going to find him.”

Lance shook his head, unable to look at Keith. “I knew he was gone. He died in a plane crash 10 years ago. I know this, but I can’t accept it! No matter how many people told me about it or didn’t tell me, I didn’t want to hear it! Don’t tell me Akira is gone. Don’t tell me he’s dead because I can’t hear it! It makes me so sad, so please don’t say it!”

“Lance.” Keith breathed, watching Lance as tears continued to fall from his eyes.

“He told me he loved me, but I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to say sorry and tell him I love him. Why is it I can’t see him to tell him how I feel? I don’t know what to do. Where is he?”

Keith was in front of Lance in moments and pulled him into a tight hug. He kept his grip even as Lance started to struggle.

“Let me go Keith! I want to see him! I want to see Akira!”

“That’s why I can’t let you go. Lance, I can’t allow you to let yourself die, not when I’m here wanting to protect you.”

“Why? Why won’t you let me go?”

Keith was silent before he spoke, not letting Lance go. “Because I love you.”

Lance’s tears stopped as he slowly pulled away from Keith, looking at his purple eyes, which stared at him unshakingly. “What?”

“Lance, I love you.”

“But…why? I don’t believe you.” He said, pushing away more, “what could you possibly love about me?”

“Are you that stupid?”

“Excuse me?” Lance snapped back.

“Lance, ever since I met you, you’ve been a force of nature. You love ordering me around and you can be so annoying in how you won’t give up, but it’s because of that you’ve changed so many things. You always want the best for everyone and almost never look for yourself. I’ve been so lucky to meet you and have you in my life. I never regretted a single moment of knowing you and when I watched you at your concert, my heart tightening seeing you diving out of that ship, it scared me. I didn’t want anything to happen to you and anytime you seemed sad, I wanted to keep you in my arms and just hold you.”

Lance stared at Keith, absorbing the confession. Pidge looked over to Hunk, who didn’t look surprised at the confession.

“That’s why you think he can stop him?”

“It’s one way to move on isn’t it? Finding out a person you care about loves you.”

“I’m sorry.” Lance said, tears starting to fall. “I love Akira. That’s why I hated it!” he screamed, “every time someone mentioned something about Akira, my memories started to fade. I don’t want to forget anything. I don’t want to move on. So please, don’t be kind to me, don’t try and heal me, don’t touch me and don’t make the pain go away, because it’s the only way I can remember him. He’s waiting for me at the bottom of the ocean, I have to go to him. But everyone keeps trying to stop me. Why are you all trying to come between me and Akira?!”

Keith grabbed Lance’s wrist and placed his hand on his chest, right over his heart. “Do you feel that? Can you feel your heartbeat matching up? You’re alive Lance. You don’t have to live with pain to remember Akira. He’s always going to be in there, beating with you. The Altean Prince in that book series, the one that inspired your name? He went through the worst things imaginable, but he didn’t give in because he had so many people who cared about him, just like you do. If you leave, you’ll be putting all those people through the same pain. Moving on isn’t the same as forgetting. I thought it did when my dad died but he’s still with me. I have the memories of him with me always. Things might be hard to remember but they’re still there. So please, don’t go. Don’t force us to go through the same pain.” Keith begged.

Unable to hold himself up, Lance collapsed into sobs, dropping into the water on his knees, letting Keith pull him back into his arms again, holding him close, and softly talking to him.

“Now what?” Pidge asked.

“That’s up to Lance. but right now, is the first step into moving on.” Hunk said.

“Hunk, seeing him in this much pain, so close to just stopping. I don’t want that. I won’t let him die. His name is on the death list and if we don’t take his soul, they’ll send someone else to.”

“Then we have get his name off the list. We need to plan to go back to the Underworld and go the Queen’s office.”

“When?”

“Soon Pidge. It’ll be soon.”


	23. The Prince's relaization

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha no class because school was delayed because of really high winds, ends up going to work by washing sleeping bags. Hey, at least I'm getting paid. Also, yes, another TAEMIN song. When I heard [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmvZV7xTlSQ) song I thought it was perfect after I read the translation. Only two more chapters, which are gonna be hella long but hopefully worth it. Also, lot of linebreaks, sorry.

Allura shook out her hair which seemed to grow in size because of the humidity.

“All that rain delayed me so much. I’m so hungry, I hope someone bought groceries.” She said to herself as she walked up the steps of the studio cabin. She stopped at the sight of a wrapped package. According to the label, it was from the official Prince Isamu fanclub. She wasn’t surprised they had sent a package when it wasn’t really known where they were supposed to be. They had sent a package to her house once and they never displayed the address of managers. They thankfully never gave the addresses away to anyone, but it was still slightly annoying that they knew where they’d be. She picked the package up and put the code into the door, pulling it open when a voice called to hold the door. She turned to see Star and Shiro coming up the stairs.

“We were wondering when you’d get here.” Star said.

“The rain delayed me, plus I had to talk to Hira about us coming here.” Allura explained, opening the door so they could all walk in.

“Are we not allowed to be here?” Shiro asked.

“Don’t worry. With Star already here and the contract from Famous Records, she couldn’t really say no. What about you two, what were you up to?” Allura asked.

“Oh, Shiro took me for dinner.”

Allura stopped in the doorway of the living room. Star was a visiting person who was working with Shiro but hearing that still didn’t make the ache in her heart stop. “Oh, lucky you. I’m starving.”

“Oh, we can see what groceries are still around. I’m really good at making leftover dinners.” Star offered.

“That would be amazing.” Allura said, hefting the package into one hand so she could grab a nearby knife.

“Excellent. Come on, you’re helping.”

“Me?” she heard Shiro say.

“She just drove the whole way here. At least treat the girl to a dinner Shiro. Unless you don’t know how to cook.”

“I know how to cook.” Shiro stated, sounding defensive.

“You sure about that?” she heard Star taunt.

“You know what? Allura prepare to have the best dinner ever!”

Allura smiled at herself. She knew it was just a nudge to his ego, but Shiro wanting to prove something for her felt nice. With the tape cut, she put the box on the edge of the couch and pulled the flaps open. She saw the growing light and felt the box get hot and her reaction was to harden her skin with her abilities as she blocked her face.

Shiro grabbed Star by her shoulders at the sudden boom coming from the living room. Smoke came pouring out into the hallway, leading into the kitchen. “Allura!”

* * *

 

Lance stayed silent in the passenger side of the car, as Keith drove him back to the studio cabin. The heat was blasting, helping Lance’s cold feet warm up. He glanced over at Keith, thinking about what he told him. Keith loved Lance. How, how could he have never known? Keith was special to him but, was he as special as Akira was? And Akira, Lance knew he still loved him but Keith telling him that moving on didn’t mean forgetting, he was going to have to accept that Akira was gone now. He made Keith worry, he had scared Pidge and Hunk. God, he didn’t want to think what Shiro would do if he knew. He felt bad for only thinking of himself. He still wanted to be with Akira but if he just left like that, things weren’t going to be any good.

“It’s over there.” Lance pointed out.

Keith parked the car next to what looked like Allura’s car. “Will you tell Allura and Shiro what happened?”

“I have to. They know the truth and I disappeared.” He didn’t want to do it by himself though. He didn’t know where Pidge and Hunk went as Keith got him out of the water and back to the cabin he was staying. “Can I ask you for a favour?”

“Of course. What is it?”

“Will you come inside with me? I know they’ll be upset and I don’t know if I can face them without wanting to run away.” Lance asked, turning his gaze to his hands. He looked up when he saw Keith put his own on them.

“Of course, I will. Come on, let’s go in.”

The two climbed out of the car, Keith pulling Lance’s duffle bag out of the backseat and guiding Lance to the front door. Lance put the code in and pulled open the door, expecting to be greeted with demands from Shiro and Allura wondering where he was but instead the lingering smell of smoke was there. He noticed scorch marks on the walls and on the doorway leading into the living room.

“Hello? Anyone?” Lance called.

“Isamu?” Shiro came out of the kitchen looking surprised at Lance. “I thought you were in your room.”

“What’s going on? Why does the hallway smell of smoke and why are there scorch marks on the wall?”

“Lance,” Shiro started slowly but Lance wanted answers.

“Shiro, what’s going on?”

“Is that Isamu?”

Lance looked around Shiro to see Allura. She had bandages on her face, her head wrapped. She was without a shirt, drawing Lance’s eyes to reddened skin on her collarbones.

“Allura? What happened to you?” Lance asked, rushing over to her. He wanted to touch her, but he noticed that there were burns on her arms. “What happened?”

“It’s ok, I’m fine.” Allura said, trying to placate Lance.

“You don’t look fine!” Lance said hysterically.

“Ok, ok, I will tell you, but I need you to calm down ok?” Allura said, her hands hovering over Lance’s shoulders. Lance struggled but calmed down a bit. “There was a package on the doorstep when I finally got here. It said it was from your official fanclub. You know how that group seems to always know where you are. We don’t allow you to open them yourself, so I was doing my job opening it for you. There was an explosive in it but thankfully I was able to use my Altean abilities to harden my skin. Shiro has been treating me since I woke up. This building is equipped with the necessary security measures so once the sensors picked up smoke, it located the source and put it out, so the living room is a bit of a mess. Besides that, I’m fine.”

Lance took in a shaky breath, feeling his eyes sting with tears all over again. He’d been crying for so long, but it was like his revisor of tears had filled up again. Allura gave Lance a gentle smile and pulled him into a hug, careful not to squeeze tight. Lance didn’t put his arms around her, but he leaned his head against hers, reminding himself she was there. He was so selfish. Allura was here getting hurt and Lance would have hurt her all over again if he had disappeared.

“Where were you though? Not everyone heard the explosive go off and we thought you had fallen asleep.” Allura asked.

Lance shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. I…I’m so sorry.”

“You didn’t.” Shiro breathed.

“He almost did, but he won’t.” Keith said, putting Lance’s bag down. “Don’t worry. He knows not to now.”

“Really?” Allura asked, taking Lance’s face in her hands. Lance nodded, tears streaming down his face, which Allura wiped away. “Thank you for not leaving. Talk to us please if you need to ok?” Lance nodded. “Good. I still need a bit of patching up. Think you can help Shiro? Star was helping but she’s got a bit of a weak stomach.”

“Ok.” He crocked.

“I better go.” Keith said.

“Wait.” Lance said, turning around and going to Keith, throwing his arms around his neck. “Thank you.”

“Remember, moving on doesn’t mean forgetting. Call me if you want to talk please, it’s not fun not getting any word from you.”

“You did it to me.” Lance reminded.

“And it was horrible, so let’s not do that to each other ok?” Keith said, pulling away. “Things will get better, I promise.”

Lance nodded and with a squeeze to his hands, Keith left, leaving Lance with confusing feelings. He knew Keith liked him, but he wasn’t asking for an answer. Lance didn’t know what to do with this. He still depended on Keith like he usually would, but wouldn’t it be harder for him?

“Lance.” Shiro called.

He couldn’t think of that right now. There were bigger things to worry about.

* * *

 

Lance stood inside the recording studio, headphones placed firmly on his ears. Waiting for the music to start. After helping Allura get bandaged up, Lance didn’t get much sleep. When he’d been singing before, he’d use the thought of Akira to push him forward, but now it wasn’t there. Thinking about everything that had happened the night before, Lance had wondered, still wondered what he lived for. Was it to see Akira again? To live out his life? He heard the slow piano music start and it seemed to hit him. No, Lance wasn’t living to just live his life. He lived to sing. Yes, he wasn’t afraid of dying because Akira would be there, but to sing was his life, his dream. It was the one thing he wanted since he was a child. He wanted to live. He knew he’d be leaving Akira alone, but he wanted to live, and he wanted to sing. He opened, his mouth, singing the words from his heart. The words he had to say to him.

“Wait a second, those aren’t-” Allura started to say but was shushed by Star.

“This is what I was waiting for.” She said with a proud smile. “I talked to him about how his emotions shown through his lyrics. I guess what he wanted to say changed. It’s sadder and my Japanese isn’t the best so I’m not totally sure what he’s saying but this is the emotion I was waiting for.”

“That’s nice and all, but what are we going to do? We recorded the chorus already.” One of the sound engineers asked.

“Then we record the new version.” Shiro said.

“What?”

“Isamu has something he wants to say with this song and if we try and pull that away, it wouldn’t be right. We’ll talk to him, but this song is changing.” Shiro said.

“It’s evolving.” Star said, watching Lance finish, taking large breaths.

* * *

 

“Welcome everyone to Top Countdown. We have a lot of performances to see but first up we so exciting news. Many people had been worried when Isamu, Prince of Altea came back from America due to family issues, but that didn’t stop the production of this song for him. We have a very special performance before we start our Comeback Stage and Performance Stage. Please help us in welcoming that Prince who has held our hearts with his song _Sayonara Hitori_ , Isamu, Prince of Altea!”

The crowd cheered as the lights started to come up on the stage Lance stood.

_**zutto kōshite kimi o tsutsun de yorisoiaruke ta nara** _   
_**ima no boku ni wa kimi no ima ni wa sorezore no ashita ga aru** _   
_**se o muke te kara chīsaku ōkiku kono te o furu** _   
_**tada massugu ni mae dake o mitsume~arui te yuku** _

_**sayonara kirari shitataru hana ga** _   
_**sabishi sō ni hohoenderu~** _   
_**sayonara hitori kanashima nai de** _   
_**kono sekai ni sakihokoru ha~na yo** _

_**kitto tōku de kimi wa matteru mukae ni ki te kureru to** _   
_**atsu no boku ra ga doko ni iyo u to tsurezure ni toki wa yuku** _   
_**itsuka kuru wakare ni obie nagara soba ni iru yori** _   
_**dakiau yume o miru ima no hō ga~ shiawase na no ka** _

_**sayonara hirari chiriyuku hana ga** _   
_**oshimu yō ni hohoenderu~** _   
_**dare ka ga hitori kanashimu no nara** _   
_**boku wa kimi ni fure nai mama de~** _

_**sayonara hitori dakiau yō ni** _   
_**kono sekai ni sakimidare te~** _   
_**sayonara hitori kanashima nai de** _   
_**kono sekai ni sakihokoru ha~na yo** _

_**Oh whoa~ Ooh whoa~** _   
_**I don’t want to say goodbye** _   
_**Goodbye** _   
_**Goodbye** _   
_**Goodbye…** _

The crowd cheered as Lance bowed to them, heading backstage with a wave.

“That was Isamu, Prince of Altea with his colbaerative song with Famous Records, _Sayonara Hitori._ Before we started, we asked him what the song was about and he told us it was about saying goodbye to a love that could no longer be. We weren’t able to get him to tell us who that person he was saying goodbye was, but we were able to find out the song had actually been a last minute change. I say the new version is much better. Now to start us off with the Comeback Stage, Isamu’s competor in the _Eternal Snow_ war, we have the Galran Assassin of Music, Red. His version of _Eternal Snow_ wasn’t relased until the release of the deluxe version of his _Thirsty_ album and has only been performed twice and he will grace us with another performance during the Performance Stage but now we’ll hear a song he was apparently working on the same time Isamu was. It seems these pair of best friends are always on the same wave length.”

Best friends? Right, they couldn’t be in the same room together since Lance had gotten back. As he went back stage, handing his headset pack to a staff member, he noticed Keith walking in his direction, his focus on the staff member who was checking his own headset. What would have been Lance wishing him good luck was now feelings bubbling in his stomach and him darting off to hide behind a rack of clothes. He knew he shouldn’t try avoiding Keith but remembering what he said and still trying to move on from Akira, it was creating a whole mess in his head and heart.

“Isamu, what are you doing?” he looked to see Krolia looking at him. With the attack that hurt Allura which had Shiro stepping in as his manager while Allura recovered, Hira hired Lance a bodyguard. He hadn’t known it was from the Blades till Krolia showed up at his apartment to escort him to his first schdeual of the day. He didn’t know what was worse, trying to avoid Keith, or trying to hide the fact that he was avoiding Krolia’s son from her.

“Nothing, let’s just go.” He said, scrambling past her.

“Do you mind if we wait? I wanted to at least see Keith perform.”

“I’ll be in my green room then!” he called, not stopping. He closed the door to his greenroom as the TV that showed what was happening on stage showed the start of Keith’s performance.

**_te wo nobaseba todoki sou na_ **   
**_kimi no omokage namida de nijinda_ **   
**_shizumu hi to noboru tsuki futari no you ni_ **   
**_sure chigai yami wo yobu_ **

**_yubi no sukima kara suri nukeru_ **   
**_shiawase no hibi wa kioku ni kawaru_ **   
**_nee boku wa mada kawarazu ni_ **   
**_tori nokosareta mama_ **

**_akaku moeru Flame of love_ **   
**_ai no kakera ga mata_ **   
**_hinoko no you ni mai agaru_ **   
**_kimi no kokoro wo tokashite_ **   
**_sono toki made moyasu Flame of love_ **

Love. Keith loved him. Lance groaned sliding down to the floor. Did he love Keith? Maybe. He always felt so happy and safe when he was around, he depended on Keith so much and Keith was important to him. but…he still loved Akira.

_Moving on isn’t the same as forgetting._

He wanted to move on. He didn’t want to be so stuck on Akira that he put Shiro and Allura through what he was going through, he didn’t want Pidge and Hunk feeling guilty they couldn’t stop him. He didn’t want to hurt Keith.

Maybe he did love Keith? Maybe if he had moved on from Akira earlier, it would have been more noticeable. Maybe he would have noticed how Keith felt. Maybe…

He didn’t get the think of another maybe as the door started to open, throwing him to his knees as his centre of gravity was shoved over.

“I’m so sorry, are you alright?” Krolia asked. He hadn’t even noticed Keith’s song was over. He could talk to him now. No, he couldn’t he wasn’t ready.

“I’m fine. Um, I’m gonna get changed. Is Shiro still here?”

“No, he told me to take you home. Said he had to go take care of something with Allura.”

If ‘taking care of’ was letting Allura down a whole glass of beer. Shiro had called during Lance’s performance, talking to Allura as she watched the performance on TV. He felt guilty about what happened to Allura, though he knew there was nothing he could have done. If he’d opened it, he’d be much worse depending. Allura was lucky, she guessed what it was and reacted correctly. Still, he wanted to check up on her and offered to do anything she wanted.

Which lead him to a karaoke place. He was expecting some type of restaurant, seeing how often Allura asked if he wanted to go get lunch together but when he offered to do whatever Allura wanted, she said she wanted to go to karaoke.

“You’re not on your pain meds anymore, are you?” Shiro asked, his doctor side coming in.

Allura shook her head as she put her empty cup down and speared a piece of chicken. “I was told I can stop taking them. I didn’t need them though.”

“Allura, you took an explosive to the face.” Shiro felt like he should remind.

“But I’m fine. The doctor said I shouldn’t scar.” Shiro was glad to hear that. He was sure Lance would feel guilty and so would he.

“Still, take it easy on the drinks ok? We don’t want anything to react with your meds.”

“I was healed with quintessence, I’m fine Shiro. Now eat up. Half the reason I brought you here is because we’d be alone so you wouldn’t deal with people staring at you. I know you don’t like that. The restaurant I wanted to go to originally had an hour long wait.”

“Oh,” Shiro said. “I didn’t know you noticed that.”

“Your shoulders always seem tense when everyone is staring when it doesn’t have to do with work. But I’m not surprised you didn’t know. You tend to avoid me half the time, so you don’t see I notice things.”

Lance was right, he was an ass to Allura. It was even worse that it took her being hurt for him to realise this. “Allura, I need to apologize. Talking to people from back in my band days, it’s embarrassing. I avoided music for so long because of all the people I lost involved in it. When people would fan over me, I feel uncomfortable. I shouldn’t have been so cold to you though. You weren’t bad, it was just all I could remember was that you knew me from my band days and I didn’t want to people to only look at me as the person from that time. Still you didn’t deserve to be treated like that and I’m truly sorry.” Shiro said, bowing his head low.

“Shiro,” Allura said, sounding a bit surprised but then she started laughing. “That’s why? I was so sure I had done something wrong. I should have been a bit more considerate of how you were feeling. Adam told me you didn’t talk much about your band days.”

“Adam?”

“We hung out while you were with Dr. Trigel. He didn’t tell me much about you since it would be considered rude, but I guess I should have realised how much you don’t bring up your past and what that must mean. So, I should be the one apologizing.”

Shiro blinked at her, taking Allura in a new light. “How about we just both apologize to each other and call it even?”

“Sure. I’m going to get another refill. Why don’t you pick a song?” Allura said, picking her cup up and going to the bar in the corner of the room.

Shiro didn’t know why the choice came to his head and there wasn’t a guarantee that they’d even have any of the songs, but he did it anyway. He was happy when he did find it.

“Here, why don’t you sing?” Shiro suggested handing Allura the mic.

Allura raised an eyebrow as she took a gulp of her drink. “Um, sure? What did you choose?”

“You’ll see. Be ready ok?” Shiro said as he selected the song.

Allura jolted at hearing the very familiar melody and turned to see what the video to her song had been play on the screen. She looked over to Shiro who gave her an encouraging smile. Singing itself had always been nerve wracking, but singing in front of her crush? Now? She prayed she didn’t do anything stupid. Maybe she should have taken a bigger gulp of her drink.

**_How I want to – wanna see you_ **

**_All these feelings, building up inside_ **

**_I can’t help it – I wanna say it_ **

****

**_Here’s my chance!_ **

**_But again it flies away_ **

****

**_When will, when will_ **

**_Our wings flutter as we fly together_ **

**_A marathon, for you and I_ **

**_Dreaming as we race across the sky_ **

****

**_Can you - Catch you Catch you_ **

**_Catch Me Catch Me – Maybe!_ **

**_Look my way and say,_ **

**_That you really feel the same_ **

****

**_Hey, it’s nice to meet you_ **

**_Good to see you – Really!_ **

**_Every little feeling that I have for you will_ **

**_Fly out – fly out – fly to your heart_ **

**_May – it – make – it’s – mark_ **

Allura was a good singer. He could agree with Adam, it was a shame that her career hadn’t last long because she could have easily been as popular as Lance was right now. The same big smile that she had on her video was growing on her actual face as she continued singing. He needed to give Allura more of a chance because getting to see this different side was something he’d missed out on. He needed to catch up.

* * *

 

Lance let the sound of his mother’s music box wash over him, while he stared at the necklace in his hand. Why was this so hard to figure out? He groaned, dropping the necklace onto the bed and flopping on his back, pressing the heels on his palms into his eyes.

“Are feelings always this confusing?” he asked out loud.

“Well, your dad didn’t seem to have that big of a problem telling your mom how he felt, but then again, Seb wasn’t one to hide how he felt.” Hunk said.

“Not helpful.” Lance said, pulling the picture frame from under his pillow and looked at the picture of his parents, their hands resting on his mother’s stomach. He wished they were here. He wanted to talk to them, ask them for advice but he couldn’t because they weren’t here and Shiro was busy. There was only so much his group of Shinigamis could tell him. He was told to keep his contact with Allura to a minim on the off chance that the attack had been meant for her and he couldn’t throw this all on Keith. Keith told him how he felt and the ball was in his court now.

“I don’t know what to tell you Lance. Love is confusing. Your situation is even more confusing because of Akira.” Hunk said.

Akira. What would he think? Would he be angry with Lance for forgetting him to take a chance with Keith or would he be encouraging Lance? He didn’t know! Lance groaned again, why was this so hard?

Lance’s phone started to buzz. It had been doing that for a while but Lace had been ignoring it in favour of trying to figure out his ‘love and crushes’ situation. Now he’d take anything to not focus on that. He grabbed his phone, flicking through the notifications that crowded his screen. They were mostly Tweets, with the same hashtags, making him feel like he was missing something. He opened one that only had the hashtag and clicked on it. The first thing to come up was from a news channel’s Twitter and what they were saying in the tweet, caused Lance to launch upright.

“Matt was attacked!”

“What?” Hunk and Pidge asked.

“He was leaving the hospital and it said that someone came at him with a knife. They slashed his face but he threw them off before they disappeared.” Lance explained from what he read. “There was a message sent out minutes after the attack.”

Lance was silent until Pidge couldn’t take it anymore, “well? What was the message?”

“‘If Isamu, Prince of Altea does not retire from his singing career, my next target will be him.’ That bomb Allura took, it was for me.”

“Anyone who knows you, knows that your close to the members of The Rebels.” Pidge stated.

“It’s my fault.” Lance said, staring down at the quoted words. “This is all my fault.”

* * *

 

Shiro shifted Allura up higher on his back. “I knew this was a bad idea.”

Allura was drunk, so very drunk. She was moaning and mumbling into his neck as he reached her apartment. He was glad she had given him her door code so he wouldn’t have to try and pat her down for keys. He struggled a bit to keep her still as he put in the code and when he did, he pulled open the door and stopped at the sight of a poster on the door. It was him, well the him from when he was in the band. He recognised that poster from one of their merch stands, him staring down the camera, his eyes glinting mysteriously.

This hadn’t been up the last time he was here.

He didn’t see anything else as he walked into the hallway. He flicked on the lights of Allura’s bedroom and stopped again. Did he miss something the last time he was here? The walls were covered in different posters and pictures of Shiro back when he was in the band. He knew Allura was a fan, but he hadn’t realised it was this bad. Well, Shiro had seen some things when meeting old fans and he hadn’t spotted any lip marks anywhere so he guessed it wasn’t that bad. He gently put Allura on her bed and took a closer look. He had forgotten a lot of the photos. On the dresser was a stack of Paladin CDs, every one they had ever released, no matter how few it had been. On the wall between the bathroom and the closet was a picture of him. He knew this one, it was one of their summer photos and around the time he was wearing his glasses more often before he started wearing his contacts. Giving the camera a heart and a large smile, his long hair was pulled into a messy bun, Shiro looked happy. That photo shoot had been fun.

“Mmm, Takashi-san.” Shiro turned to see Allura sitting on the edge of the bed, a smile on her face as she looked at Shiro.

“Allura, wait, I’m sorry. I should of never came barging in,” he started as she got up but stopped when she didn’t go for him. She went to the poster. Allura had never called him Takashi. Not since he told her not to. He looked over at her, her forehead placed on heart.

“Today was so fun. Takashi was so nice to me, he sounded so concerned when he called. I wonder if the real reason he was worried was because of Lance or because I was hurt. He disliked me for so long, I can’t be that surprised.” Ouch, that hurt. But Allura had every right to feel that way. He had been horrible to her and he never should have been.

Allura pulled out a worn photo card and turned around, looking down at it fondly. “I don’t care though. He gave me such a fond smile, one I never thought I’d see again. Does that mean I might actually have a chance after all? A chance to be your princess?” Shiro rushed forward as Allura stumbled, grabbing hold of her as she steadied herself and looked up at Shiro, giving him that same dazed smile. “I love you so much Takashi.” She said, bringing her hand up and dragging a finger down his cheek. “So very much.” She leaned in like she wanted to kiss him but started to pull away, but Shiro stopped her and tugged her face closer.

This wasn’t what he planned to do, but…he did it anyway. He didn’t deserve Allura’s love and kisses, not after how he treated her, but just that one stolen kiss, it made him crave more. But he’d earn it. He’d gain her forgiveness for real and earn it. Gently putting her back in her bed, Shiro left her apartment, filled with determination, not realizing a pair of cyan coloured eyes watched him go back to his car.

* * *

 

“Hey there your highness.”

Lance looked up from his lap to see Matt approaching him, Rolo and Nyma nearby. Lance shot out of his seat and rushed to Matt.

“What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at home and…Matt, your face.”

Matt touched the scar on the side of his cheek like he forgot the scar had been there. “Oh yeah. Don’t worry, I’m ok.”

“But…it was my fault.”

Matt put his hands on Lance’s shoulders, “you’re not the one who came at me with a knife now were you? This is just some guy who didn’t like how the songs got stacked up recently and is taking it out on you. They’re going to find him soon, don’t worry.”

Lance knew he should feel better but he didn’t. He felt like everyone getting hurt in his life was always his fault. He’d been the reason his parents died, how could what was happening now not be his fault?

“Isamu, they’re ready for you.” Krolia called.

“I have to go. Hold on to them for me?” Lance asked, passing Matt Hunk, Pidge and Sven, who was missing his green scarf.

“Sure. Have fun ok? And be careful.”

“It’s a fan signing, don’t know how much trouble I can get into.” Lance said as he went to follow Krolia out to where he was lead onto a stage that held a table filled with different coloured markers, water and a stack of postcards with the picture for _Sayonara Hitori_. The fan signing went on for 2 hours, with Lance signing the postcards and thanking each person for coming. There had been a few Rebels fans wearing shirts with Matt’s cartoon character on it giving Lance cold looks as he signed their postcards, but the only thing he could do was bow his head as he shook their hands.

“He’s doing a performance of _Sayonara Hitori_ after this and we’re getting him out after this.” Krolia confirmed with Shiro, as she kept an eye on the crowd.

“Yes. He’ll be going to Altea after this. Allura is finally allowed to see him.”

“Hopefully if this person attempts to attack today, we can catch him and give her even more good news.”

“One can only hope.” Shiro said, taking note of what one of the coordinators told him there was about 10 more people left. “We should be moving soon. It seems the word about Isamu being attacked is keeping a lot of people away. This could have easily lasted 3 hours.”

“Well less chance of any time for an attack,” Krolia pointed out, trying not to seem suspicious of the little girl who laced her hand with Lance’s non dominate hand as he wrote on her postcard, giving her a big smile as he handed her the postcard.

It was soon over, stage helpers clearing off the table and handing Lance a mic to greet the crowd that stood in front of him. The music started when Lance spotted something being thrown from the crowd.

“Isamu, get down!” Krolia yelled, darting on the stage and pulling him out of the way. The object seemed to curve away from where Lance would have been standing and hit Shiro, who throw his arms up to block his face. The object shattered against Shiro’s prosthetic, spraying liquid on Shiro and causing people to scream.

“Shiro!” Lance yelled, getting up and rushing over to him.

“It’s ok, I’m ok. It’s just water!” Shiro told him, trying to calm the frazzled look on Lance’s face.

Staff members were trying to calm down the panicked group of people, telling everyone to stay calm, but calm was the last thing Lance wanted to be. Why was the person doing this? Why were they hurting the people he cared about?

“Who did this? Who threw the bottle? You said you’d come after me, so why are you doing this?” Lance yelled at the crowd, Krolia pulling him away to get him backstage. “Why are you doing this?!”

“Lance, come on. Stop.” Shiro ordered once Lance was away from the crowd’s eyes. “Don’t take it out on them.”

“They were there Shiro. They said they would come after me, so why are they hurting the people I care about. If they want to attack me, they should come after me.”

“Lance.” Shiro started but stopped when The Rebels came running over, Nyma pulling Lance into a tight hug, which caused Lance to breakdown.

Krolia knew she hadn’t been the best mother. She was only now regaining her son’s forgiveness, but something was telling her that there were more than just the attacks on Lance weighing him down. She knew Lance was avoiding Keith, no doubt because of what he confessed to her, telling her he told Lance how he felt. She could guess the question of what to do was weighing on him as well. He needed to talk to someone and the only person she could think of was her own son. But was the right, putting her son into that position when he was still waiting for an answer?

* * *

 

“’Prince of Altea’s performance ends in confusion and singer yells at the culprit who stands among the crowd.’ Well, that doesn’t sound good.” Hira said, as she looked at Lance who was curled up on of the chairs in her office.

“I’m not about to apologize for what I did.”

“Of course. But you should let us and the police handle this. If you worry about this, you’re not going to last as a singer and besides if he’s some obsessive fan, he’s making things worse for himself and he shouldn’t matter.”

Lance shot up from his seat and walked towards the door. “That sounds like running away words and I’m not going to run from this person.” With that, he walked out the door and slammed the door closed.

“So innocent. Remember when we used to be like that?” Hira said.

“Hira, be nice. This is stressing him out enough as it is. Just try and figure this out quick before Isamu tries to fix things himself ok? I’m heading out now. I heard Allura was going to be by and I know he’ll want to stay here to see her.” Shiro said, looking like he was going to the door when Hira stopped him.

“Could you do me a favour? I dropped my pen under my desk and if I bend in this dress, I’ll be stuck on the floor, plus I’m not wearing my contacts today.”

“Didn’t your manager always tell you to put them on even when you talked about hating them?” Shiro asked, walking over to the desk and kneeling down, letting himself get under it to reach the pen.

“Guess I never learn.” Hira turned to knocking on the door and called the person in, already knowing who it would be.

“Hi.” Allura greeted as she walked in.

“And our Empress is amongst the walking again.” Hira said, smiling at Allura.

“Yes. You said that Lance could use me here.”

“Well, I want something first.” Hira pulled Allura close making sure the bright lights on her desk were casting shadows for Shiro to see as she pulled Allura into a deep kiss.

And she got her wish. Being startled by Allura’s voice, Shiro stayed under the desk but when he saw the shadows of Hira pulling Allura into a kiss, he looked away. Maybe he never had a chance. If he never did, then why did it hurt so much?

He felt like he was in such a daze that he barely remembered getting out of the office, Hira having this damned knowing look on her face as she waved him out. He stopped in front of a coffee vending machine and had to of stood there long enough for Allura to come find him there.

“I would suggest the mocha. The cappuccinos are really watery.” She said, standing next to him.

“I…didn’t see you there. How are you feeling?” Shiro said, glancing at her before looking away and pulling out his wallet.

“Better. I’m sorry I got so drunk the other night. I hope I wasn’t a bother to deal with.”

Shiro shook his head and pressed the button for a regular coffee, still not looking at Allura.

“I’m really glad to see you’re ok though. I heard that you were attacked at Lance’s signing. I’m glad it wasn’t serious but Lance must be feeling like a bit of a mess with everything going on.”

“How did you know I wasn’t hurt? All the news articles said that I had been attacked at the event but none said I wasn’t hurt. Did you hear about it from Hira?”

Stunned at how Shiro was seeming to act, Allura nodded.

“I’m fine, so you shouldn’t bother worrying about me. Lance is in the lobby waiting for you. I have to go.” Shiro took his coffee from the machine and walked away, leaving Allura staring after him.

She let out a sad scoff, “you had been so nice to me before. Why are you mad all of a sudden? What was I thinking? I can never be a princess, so he’s never going to look at me.”

* * *

 

“Lance, I can’t breathe!” Allura said as Lance squeezed his arms around her neck tighter.

“I don’t care! I haven’t been able to see you in ages.”

“You sound like you’ve been worried. I’m fine.” Allura said, finally pulling Lance’s arms off of her neck, but still held his hands. “What about you? I know this has to be pressing on your mind.”

Lance looked away, the outward elation from seeing Allura dying a bit. “It’s…hard. I know some people blame me for what happened to Matt and I can’t say I blame them. If it wasn’t for me, neither of you would be hurt. My parents wouldn’t be dead.”

“Lance?” Allura asked quietly, not liking the feeling she was getting.

“I think I should quit being a singer.”

Allura stared at Lance in stunned silence before hardening herself. “Don’t you dare say that. Don’t you dare say you’re going to give this up because you want to give this guy what he wants just to protect us.”

“But…”

“Lance, when I got hurt, I was scared.” Allura interrupted. “I was so scared that I wouldn’t be able to protect you anymore. I was worried that the blast would leave a scar on my face. But I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to hear you say you’d give up. Hearing that would hurt me more than some bomb. So, don’t say that, you hear me?”

Lance slowly nodded before Allura pulled him into a tight hug. He understood what Allura was saying but, that didn’t mean it still didn’t hurt. It was his fault and he should just disappear, but more than anything he wanted the chance to live.

* * *

 

Lance stepped off the elevator for his floor and stopped at the familiar feeling of becoming older. Sure enough, he felt his head and pulled at the long white hair.

“What the hell? Hunk why-?”

“Lance.”

Lance looked away from his bag where Hunk sat to see Keith, standing outside his door. His gold eyes took him in, making Lance feel like his feet were firmly attached to the floor. He wasn’t expecting to see him, not at least until Lance went to him himself. Part of Lance wanted to run away. He wasn’t ready to figure out what these feelings meant. But another part of him wanted to talk to Keith. It was always so easy to talk to him and to get his advice, to know he could rely on him for help. If Lance really wanted to leave the music world behind him, he at least owed Keith an explanation.

“What are you doing here?”

Keith walked up to Lance and took his hand, squeezing it. “Be honest, this whole stalker thing is getting to you isn’t it?” Lance didn’t answer, didn’t even look at Keith but the way he squeezed his hand back said it all. Keith pulled Lance into him, holding him close. “Lance, what’s wrong? Talk to me please. I know you have every reason not to, but please talk to me.”

Lance felt his eyes well with tears again. “I think it’s my fault my parents died. And Akira. And the reason everyone is getting hurt, it’s all because of me. I can’t forget Akira and still be happy but I’m so scared to keep living. I feel like such a weakling with everyone I care about getting hurt because of me.”

“Hey, I’m still, here aren’t I?” Keith said, rubbing Lance’s back. “You told me your parents were so excited to have you, that your dad was rushing your mom to the hospital just to get you here safely. It’s like I told you, moving on isn’t the same as forgetting. You can move on from the pain of never meeting your parents, but you’re not going to forget how much they cared about you. The same thing with Akira. I love seeing you smile, don’t you think Akira feels the same way?”

Lance nodded into Keith’s shoulder. “He always told me thank you whenever I smiled at him. I didn’t feel like I hated myself then.”

“I know it’s hard to believe that everyone will do what it takes to make you smile, but we will, trust me. Don’t think your worth any less.”

Lance had his hands pressed against Keith’s chest but he then moved his arms to wrap around Keith’s waist, hugging him tight. “I know I still haven’t given you an answer, but do you think we can just…?”

“Lance, you don’t have to give me an answer now. I’m not going anywhere, I promise. I’ll stay here as long as you want me to.”

So, there they stayed, standing in the hallway outside Lance’s apartment. Lance held on to Keith and the two of them stayed silent, the silence not feeling suffocating like Lance thought it would be. He hoped when he was really ready to give Keith is answer, he’d feel just as light.

* * *

 

“The costume should be here soon. I’m so sorry it’s late.” Allura apologized. It was her first day back at the job and Altea Records was having its annual music festival. Lance had his performance where he was going to do _Sayonara Hitori_ with choreography for the first time, which meant a whole new outfit. The last time he’d just been wearing his outfit from _Eternal Snow_.

“It’s fine. Are you sure you’re feeling ok?” Lance asked, holding Hunk on his lap. Pidge and Sven had disappeared, looking for the stalker according to Hunk.

“I’m fine. I’m going to go check and make sure things are ok. As soon as you get changed, they’re gonna want you out for interviews. What are you gonna say to them?”

Lance shrugged. “It won’t matter. They’ll just prod me for answers I won’t give.” Lance played with his hair before turning to Allura. “Do you think…do you think that if I told Akira that I wanted to live, do you think he’d be sad?”

Allura thought it over as she leaned on the chair next to where Lance was sitting. “I don’t know him well, but from what you’ve told me about him, he’d be sad, but I also think he’d tell you it’s ok, because I don’t doubt for a second he’d want what’s best for you.”

“Even if I decided to be with someone else?”

“I take it you mean with Keith?” Lance nodded and Allura sighed before walking around so she stood in front of Lance. “Love and relationships are confusing enough as it is without adding your circumstances. If Akira tells you you have to stay stuck on him and not move forward, then he wasn’t worth it. You can still remember him and move on Lance. Keith wouldn’t hate you if it took a bit longer though. Korlia told me that Keith came to see you last night.”

“I just…I think that I...” Lance stopped before shaking his head, “I _know_ I feel the same. It just took so long to accept it that now that I’m thinking of Akira now, it makes it hard to go forward. Have you noticed that Keith looks like Akira?”

Allura furrowed her brow. “Does he?”

“They both have long black hair and their face shape is the same. I’m just scared that I only like Keith because I think he looks like Akira.”

“Seriously?” Hunk said from Lance’s lap. Allura was glad the room was empty. “That’s what you’ve been thinking?”

“You’ve seen his picture, you agree with me, don’t you?” Lance said.

“Ok, they kinda look alike, but Lance, be serious. Keith doesn’t look that different when he’s Galra and you’ve been Red’s fan for ages. Did you ever once think he looked like Akira then?”

“No.”

“And when you got to know him better, did you think he looked like him then?” Lance shook his head. “Then I rest my case. You’re looking for an excuse not to fully accept your feelings. You deserve to be happy and if Keith makes you happy, then as your big brother I’m demanding you buck up and tell him!” Hunk ordered.

“I have to agree with him Lance.” Allura said. “It’s not like you’re saying goodbye to Akira in every aspect. You can still have love for him, but you shouldn’t let that stop you from loving someone else just as much.”

Lance took his necklace in his hand. Since Keith gave it to him, he never took it off, even when dealing with his feelings. The idea of even doing that made him feel sick to his stomach. Kinda how he felt when he realised his own feellings about Akira when he left. Akira, who knew how he felt, was willing to turn his back on his own feelings to keep Lance happy when he was confused about Akira.

He had feelings for Keith and as much as Lance wanted to say he’d always wait for Akira, he knew that wasn’t true. He couldn’t say he was completely in love with Keith but he had feelings for him and he wanted to give them a chance.

“Moving on isn’t the same as forgetting.” Lance muttered.

A knock on the door pulled Lance out of his thoughts.

“Yes?” Allura answered.

“Isamu’s outfit is here with the makeup crew.”

“Coming. Ready Lance?”

“Yeah, I think I am.”

Lance got mini braids in his hair and pulled back so a crown of thin chains could be placed on his head, the blue gem resting in the middle of his forehead. A blue sleeveless shirt sat under an off the shoulder dark blue transparent shirt that looked like Lance was wearing the night sky. A similar coloured scarf was used as a belt on Lance’s white pants. As soon as his makeup was finished, he was called to get interviews done. Lance had been right in guessing that the interviewers were a bit like rabid animals in wanting answers. Thankfully Allura only allowed one interviewer to ask him a question.

“Yesterday’s events had to be scary right? Aren’t you scared that this stalker might try to strike again?” Lance shook his head. “No? Then do you have any comments for your fans out there?” Lance only put his finger to his lips as if to say it was a secret.

Lance had something to say but it could be said in his song. As he sat on the stage waiting for the music to start he thought of Akira. He would love him but Keith was right. He didn’t have to forget him to move on. He didn’t have to forget him to say goodbye.

  _ **zutto kōshite kimi o tsutsun de yorisoiaruke ta nara**_  
 _ **ima no boku ni wa kimi no ima ni wa sorezore no ashita ga aru**_  
 _ **se o muke te kara chīsaku ōkiku kono te o furu**_  
 _ **tada massugu ni mae dake o mitsume~arui te yuku**_

_**sayonara kirari shitataru hana ga** _   
_**sabishi sō ni hohoenderu~** _   
_**sayonara hitori kanashima nai de** _   
_**kono sekai ni sakihokoru ha~na yo** _

_**kitto tōku de kimi wa matteru mukae ni ki te kureru to** _   
_**atsu no boku ra ga doko ni iyo u to tsurezure ni toki wa yuku** _   
_**itsuka kuru wakare ni obie nagara soba ni iru yori** _   
_**dakiau yume o miru ima no hō ga~ shiawase na no ka** _

_**sayonara hirari chiriyuku hana ga** _   
_**oshimu yō ni hohoenderu~** _   
_**dare ka ga hitori kanashimu no nara** _   
_**boku wa kimi ni fure nai mama de~** _

_**sayonara hitori dakiau yō ni** _   
_**kono sekai ni sakimidare te~** _   
_**sayonara hitori kanashima nai de** _   
_**kono sekai ni sakihokoru ha~na yo** _

_**Oh whoa whoa~ Ooh whoa~** _   
_**I don’t want to say goodbye** _   
_**Goodbye** _   
_**Goodbye** _   
_**Goodbye…** _

_‘Goodbye Akira, I won’t forget you.’_

* * *

 

“The police are outside!” Lance heard once he entered backstage. “They got the suspect!”

“What?” Lance said, already trying to pull off his mic pack.

“You can mostly thank the kind members over at the Blade of Mamora.” Matt said, coming past with a person following him. “Or at least thank Keith.”

Keith pulled off his baseball cap, shaking out his purple tinted hair. He didn’t say anything but gave Lance a small smile.

“What did? What did you guys do?” Lance asked, finally getting the pack off and shoving it to a stage hand.

“Since I was the only one who saw the guy’s face I decided to go and look for him. I got Keith to help me since Nyma and Rolo would be too obvious.” Matt answered.

“But that was so dangerous! How did you know you even found the right person?” Lance asked.

“Intuition.” Matt said.

“They’re taking the guy now.” Keith finally spoke.

“Wait!” Lance yelled as he darted out the door, ignoring Shiro’s yells for him to stay put.

“Thanks again for helping me man.” Matt thanked.

“No problem. It’s the least I can do.” Keith said as he fitted his hat back on his head and pulled off the fake glasses he’d been wearing as part of his disguise.

“Yeah, I’m totally sure you did it for me.” Matt teased. “Are you gonna head out?”

“I’m gonna stick around for a little while. I want to at least talk to him.”

Lance had just reached the police as they were escorting the culprit out. “Wait please. I have something I need to say to him.” The police stopped and Lance took in the man who’d been making Lance life hell for the past few weeks. He was human, Indian from the looks of it, his facial hair stopping him from looking young though his eyes looked so old, like they’d seen so much. Lance steeled himself and bowed at the man. “Thank you for being my fan. I appreciate that people love my singing but you have to understand something. I’m not doing this on my own so please don’t hurt those who are important to me because all those who’ve loved me enough to get me here are important to me too. And that also includes you.”

Those words resounded in the man’s head as the police drove him to the station.

“Hmm, seems he’s the same on every spectrum of reality. I can see how it got to this.” With a snap of the man’s finger’s, the police cruiser was filled with smoke, causing the police to stop and a green worm winged being to escape the car.

“Slav!” Sven called, trying to reach his partner but the green worm only smiled down at him and then disappeared.

Sven floated there staring at where his partner had once been. The same partner that had attacked Allura, Matt and Shiro. The one had been missing. Sven didn’t know what was going on. Slav had been responsible for everything and completely acted without orders from Sven. Something was going on and he needed answers. He was usually the one who had them but he was at a complete loss now.

* * *

 

Lance slowly braided his hair into pigtails as he thought about what he was going to do. He was going to finally tell Keith how he felt. Part of him was scared of what Akira would say about his changed feelings but he knew Hunk and Allura were right. Akira would want him to be happy and Keith did make him happy.

“You look nervous.” Hunk pointed out as he handed Lance a hair tie.

“I’m about to tell my best friend that I also have feelings for him. I can’t tell him I love him because I don’t know if I’m there yet but still, the idea of admitting I have feelings for him is scary.”

“It’ll be fine. I think you know as well as I do that Keith won’t force his feelings on you.”

“I know, but part of me is a bit worried about something. Eventually I’m gonna have to tell him about who I really am. What if that completely breaks our relationship?”

“I mean the same chance happened with Shiro.”

“Yeah, but he’s my godfather, he has to love me.” Lance pointed out.

“I find that almost insulting.” Shiro said walking in.

“It’s true.”

“I wanted to let you know you have an appointment for a check-up. We need to make sure your still in good health for this surgery.”

Lance groaned. “But I’m fine.”

“Lance, there’s still a chance your cancer can grow before the surgery happens. Complain all you like but check-ups are still important.”

“Yeah, but the minute you see something you don’t like, it’ll off the stage for me.” Lance complained.

“Well then, don’t keep anything from me and if I decided your still ok, I’ll let you still sing, got it?”

“Fine, can I go now?”

Shiro gestured to the door, knowing that the longer he tried talking to Lance, the more he’d try and move away from the subject. Lance rushed to the door and opened it, stopping when he saw Keith standing outside. He first reaction was to ask to talk to him but then he saw the look on Keith’s face.

“Cancer? You have cancer.”

“What? Keith…”

“Don’t ‘what Keith’ me. What the hell Lance? How long have you known this?” Lance opened his mouth but couldn’t answer. “How could you be so stupid?”

“It’s not like I asked to get it.” Lance snapped.

“No, but why the hell do you think draining yourself on stage is even right?”

“What, so I’m weaker because I have cancer?”

“No, but it’s hard to even trust you seeing how you never even told me. After everything I’ve told you. I thought you had more trust in me.” Keith turned and stormed off, ignoring Lance’s yells for him to wait.

“Did he hear us?” Shiro asked.

“No, no. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

It wasn’t supposed to be happen. He was supposed to tell Keith how he felt, not start to lose him all over again.

Why was it that he seemed to keep losing the people important to him?


	24. Apologies, this will continue

Ok, so I need to honest with you guys. I didn't actually finish this story. Yes I'm only two chapters out from finishing but I had asked for an extension and still wasn't done, so I decided to post anyway because it was getting to the point of me not wanting to look at the story anymore. I am working on chapter 24 now, it's just, I don't get very far when writing this. I'm gonna take a step back and work on other projects and hopefully it'll build back the motivation to work on this again. It will be finished, I can promise that. I worked too hard not to finish this. Sorry I kept you waiting this long hoping for a new chapter. I promise, when it's done, it'll delete this chapter and put the new chapter up in it's place. I hope you understand.


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